


Ghost Loop

by Nebulablu



Series: Loop AUs [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (occasionally), /casually puts too much detail into the backstories, Accidental Cuddling, After the first chapter at least, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Both of him, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Eventual Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Everyone Has Issues, Ghosts, I also changed the 6th trial just a little so Shirogane showed ALL of the videos, I don't know how to tag this story tbh, Just to be safe, Multi, Nervous Saihara Shuichi, No Smut, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, Oma Kokichi-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ouma Kokichi has Heterochromia, POV Oma Kokichi, POV Saihara Shuichi, Putting that just in case, Rantaro sees Kokichi as a little brother, Redeemed Shirogane Tsumugi, Seriously. All of them. Wtf did I do to these poor children., Slow Burn, Time Loop, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Using jokes to hide the new for therapy? Yep., it's Ouma not Oma, so technically... - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 60,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebulablu/pseuds/Nebulablu
Summary: Kokichi gets crushed under the press, and is suddenly a ghost. He witnesses the last two trials, but right as the remaining three step forward, he finds himself plunged into darkness.He opens his eyes to find that he's back in the locker that he first woke up in, with the robot we just watched explode talking to him.What the actual fuck.
Relationships: Amami Rantaro & Oma Kokichi, Chabashira Tenko & Oma Kokichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Loop AUs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803058
Comments: 395
Kudos: 1072
Collections: Quality Fics, Time Travel and World Travel





	1. MISS KEISHA!

**Author's Note:**

> oh mah fukin gawd, she fukin dead!

Kokichi closes his eyes as the press starts up. He knows it would be only a few seconds, but his racing mind made it feel much longer. He can't help but think of Gonta, Miu, and Shumai. Gonta hadn't deserved what Kokichi had done to him, especially since he's pretty sure that the 'secret of the outside world' is faker than Miu's tits.

Kokichi felt the cold metal touch his bare skin a split second before agonizing pain ripped through his body, he would've screamed if his vocal cords weren't pancakes. His mouth too, and lungs. His whole body, actually. 

Of course, he soon realized that he was screaming, but it sounded off. Kokichi knows what his voice sounds like, especially screaming, and this is not it. The voice is too echoey and soft, not to mention it hadn't stopped in far too long, the person was sure to pass out due to lack of oxygen. 

Kokichi shuts his mouth, and opens his eyes despite the fact that both of these things are supposed to be crushed. The first thing he sees is a whole lot of pink. Pink? He tries to lean forward, but then it changes to a sea of a weird grey metal color. Almost like he's… inside the hydraulic press?

The next thing he notices is how incredibly light he feels, like gravity let go of him. He leans back down and moves along the pink until it opens into air.

Oh.

That's blood.

Gross.

Wait.

That's _his_ blood!

Kokichi whips his head around quickly finding Kaito. He's cutting the lines to the press, just like he was told. Good, but that doesn't answer any of his questions. Kokichi moves a bit, orientating himself in a way that looks like he's standing, but is probably a millimeter over or inside the floor.

In his blood. Absolutely disgusting, but not important at the moment. Kokichi walks around, exploring for answers as Kaito keeps working behind him. 

He stops. He's walking around, invisible and incorporeal, with Kaito nearby. Kaito has a crippling fear of ghosts. Kokichi is now, most likely, a ghost. He doesn't fight the laugh bubbling up his throat at the thought.

The sound of the door opening startles him out of the unending laugh fit. Kaito is gone, but now the remaining four are here. And also, a fuckton of ghosts. All their dead classmates are floating around like nats.

They all look devastated, though it makes sense as all evidence points to Pancake Kaito. If he did it right, that is. Kokichi can't help but wonder if they would look that sad if they had found his body, like his prank after Tenko's death. For now though, he just thanks his lucky stars that his ghost body is hidden so none of the ghosts can see him.

Kokichi watches as they search around, ghosts having long ago picked the people they mainly follow around. It's of zero surprise that he sees Kaede following Shuichi around. It's a bit surprising to see Rantaro happily chatting with her and sticking his head in the toilet when Shuichi shows interest in it.

The ghosts, despite being unable to communicate with the survivors, are investigating with them. Makes one wonder, why was no one in the hanger? 

Kokichi stays hidden and watches as they discover all the evidence that the space idiot left behind on purpose. Now knowing that his dead classmates are investigating as well, which raises questions, he's going to hide with Kaito in the Exisal.

Why would the dead investigate if they can't help? The things they figure out and say probably leave some sort of imprint on the living. How would that work? Subtle manipulation? If that's true, did they use it on him? When? Kokichi can't think of a time he did something so heavily influenced by one or more of his classmates.

Though, him giving them the electo-hammers and bombs so they could figure out the mystery could potentially count. Even then, it wasn't like they would believe him if he told them. If he didn't have this whole mastermind plan, he probably would've switched to saying 'it's a joke!' instead of 'it's a lie!' but that's wholly speculation.

_I got off topic_.

That thought shakes him out of his head, and he quickly peeks around, seeing that no one has found him. In fact, everyone's gone?

_Ding dong, bing bong!_

Oh. They went to search elsewhere and now it's time for the classtrial. That makes sense actually. Kokichi jumps as the Exisal starts moving. He quickly goes up and joins Kaito in the cockpit. Of course, this won't last very long as Kaito has to switch between himself and Kokichi for it to work, and the Exisal is pretty fast.

Unless Kokichi can choose not to go through it, so he gets tugged along instead of left behind. He quickly tests it out on the wall, and the test proves successful, thankfully. He's pretty new to this whole ghost thing and doesn't know if he can tire out from moving too much.

…

Do ghosts need sleep? Can they sleep? Hopefully, or he'll be very bored, very quickly.

Kokichi continues pondering what ghost life is like, as metal on his back tugs him along with Kaito.

\----------------------------

Kokichi is honestly surprised that none of the ghosts are trying to peek inside the Exisal. They must be curious considering there's no new ghost to be found. Of course he can't really focus long enough to think when he keeps being _tugged around at the speed of light slow the fuck down Kaito, holy shit_.

Yeah he's having a great time, if he had a stomach, it would be empty and on the floor of the Exisal.

While Kokichi tries not to lose his grip on the wall, the others argue outside. He can hear the pieces of conversation that others can't, such as Kirumi saying that it's possible no one died, as they never found a ghost. It would be kinda cramped, but with Kokichi's small size, he and Kaito could potentially fit together.

Kokichi starts silently cursing himself because fuck that would've been a better plan! An unnecessary classtrial plus the fact that he couldn't execute the spotless for getting it wrong, like he might if things go south in this situation, means it's obviously better. Of course, only drinking half the bottle might not have gotten all the poison out so they could've both died from lingering traces of the pois-

"Cuz I like you~!"

_Kaito what the fuck. I'm too gay for that. Absolutely disgusting, why did you do that. Fukin straight boy. If you're going to hit on someone in my voice, it's gonna have to be Shumai! Not Kiiboy, as that wouldn't fit the act and not Maki. You can hit on Maki as yourself, you pining dumbass. Why, of all people, did you pick Himiko?_

_Oh yeah. He's stupid and oblivious. He doesn't know._

While Kokichi is lost in his thoughts, the classtrial continues, as it always does.

\----------------------------

"It's you, Kaito Momota, The Ultimate Astronaut!" Shuichi declares it, pointing like usual. The ghosts all look vaguely surprised at the outcome, if the Exisal's screen is accurate. Kaito pops open the top and jumps out with surprising dexterity. Kokichi pops out the side and lays on the floor, because that was far too fast and he needs a break.

He tunes out everything until a hand touches his arm. He jumps upright, coming face-to-chest with Kaede. He looks up to meet her eyes and backs up, not wanting to be so close.

"Kokichi, is everything Kaito said true?"

His first instinct is to lie and be snarky but… it's not like it matters anymore.

"I wasn't listening. What'd he say?"

She blinks at the normal reply, a small smile slowly stretching across her face. "It was all an act, you were just trying to end the game, right? Everything was fake."

"The best liars can lie to everyone, even themselves," he looks away for a moment, contemplating how vulnerable he's ok with being, "Can't lie away your feelings, but you can hide them."

_Fuck I'm crying ok that's not what I wanted ABORT MISSION- wait what._

Kokichi's eyes go wide and shocked as arms circle him. His fingers and arms twitch as he tries to figure out what to do. He honestly can't remember the last time he was hugged, but he eventually decides on clutching the back of her sweater and burying his face in her shoulder.

He can hear a few whispers, probably from Tenko, but ignores them. Then, a very distinct voice calls out, gaining all the attention.

"It's… PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Kaede straightens at the words, making Kokichi cling to her like a koala. Tenko's gone quiet as Maki screams. They run after Kaito as he's yanked off to the side. They find themselves in a classroom, Kaito sitting in front of a rocket. Maki gets held back by ghosts and the living alike, one much more productive then the other, as a few go inside the rocket to accompany Kaito. Those few being Gonta, Ryoma, and Rantaro.

Kokichi watches, still clinging to Kaede, as the doors swallow Kaito and the boosters fire up, starting to send him up… before they pull a 180 and send him to the center of the earth.

There's multiple gasps as he vanishes into the floor, Shuichi looking as though he might start crying like Maki, who has been crying for a good ten minutes now. It's silent, save for deep breaths and hushed sobs, as they wait for the spaceship to reappear.

It only takes a few minutes, but it feels much longer. The spaceship crashes back up, spraying rocks everywhere multiple ghosts jump in to try and protect the survivors, but Kiibo beats them to it and Miu visibly flinches as his ahoge breaks off. Shuichi had started reaching out to protect Himiko, but all movement was aborted as the ship opened, revealing a dead, smiling, Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars.

They watch as Kaito's ghost slowly fades into view. Kokichi once again blocks out everything, slowly detaching from Kaede as he waits for Kaito.

One sentence manages to break through the fog. "It's going to take a minute." He nods, not caring who said it, and sits in front of the forming ghost. He's not sure how long he took to form, as he was stuck inside the press, but he knows it was a while.

People start leaving, most of the ghosts leaving as well. Miu was floating around Kiiboy's head, wondering what the lack of ahoge effects would be. Kaede left to follow Shuichi, Rantaro as well. Tenko and Angie followed Himiko, Korekiyo trailing them, and the rest just followed the crowd.

Ryoma stayed, but he kept to the shadows. When Kaito finally started moving, he left. Kokichi however, instantly rocketed at Kaito. The tall spaceman nearly fell as Kokichi wrapped around him, but his arms quickly came down to return the hug.

Of course, once he got his barings, he pushed away and started freaking out.

"Ko-Kokichi! But you're-! Wait! I'm!" His rambles continued as he attempted to make sense of the scene in front of him.

"We're ghosts Kaito! What's so hard to understand! Look how dead I am!" Kokichi proceeded to float into the ceiling, pulling Kaito with him as the spaceman panics. Kokichi could feel Kaito's grip get stronger on his arms as they go through the pure rock, which is understandable as, if Kokichi let go now, they would never find each other again and Kaito would probably be lost forever.

They break through and Kokichi quickly flies towards the dorm, Kaito in tow. It's not hard to notice where they're at, ghosts glow surprisingly bright, so he served towards them. 

It's pretty nice for a bit, as Kaito gets eased into being a ghost, surrounded by ghosts. They fill in Kokichi and Kaito and everything they've found, noticed, and done, while Kokichi explains his actions while alive.

It's pretty simple, he wanted to trick the mastermind, but they keep telling him to elaborate, so he does. Or, he tries at least. He's interrupted halfway through by a large series of explosions that have him jumping backwards, through a tree. He quickly finds himself hundreds of meters in the air, spinning in circles for the cause.

The answer came in the form of two other flying bodies, Kiibo and Miu. Miu is flying towards him, Kiibo is going around the school, shooting everything. It's almost like he stopped caring for the safety of others, despite having damaged himself for them just a few minutes ago.

"Dickcheese holy fuck! Kiibo's installed guns on himself and now he's trying to level the damn school!"

Kokichi's eyes widen before he grabs her elbow (he doesn't know where those hands have been), and drags Miu down to the others.

They don't get much time to share the news as Kiibo lands as well, and starts talking to Shuichi, but then Monokuma crashes in and suddenly it's a free for all. Kokichi flies after Shumai, as he can suggest things to him and the detective will absolutely go look. Apparently, that's what Angie did to get Shuichi to look below the floorboards.

Shuichi gets caged in, and has to go down the new opening, a staircase in the center of the floor. They go down the long, unfinished hallway, and find a door. Kokichi stops when he sees it because it looks strangely familiar, but he can't quite place it. They go in, and Kokichi instantly points out a book on the floor, which is investigated near immediately.

Maki walks in, and Kokichi follows Shuichi as he uncovers secrets of the school. He's there when they discover MotherKuma, when Shuichi discovers the flashback light-creating-classroom, and when Himiko shows the other entrance to the mastermind's lair.

The entire class is there as the Final Classtrial begins.

  
  
  


The entire class is there as Shuichi ends Danganronpa.

  
  
  
  
  


The fully formed spirits of all but the still forming Tsumugi watch as the Surviving Trio walk out.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The spirits watch as 

  
  
  
  
  


the whole world

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


suddenly

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


goes

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


b l a c k.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,383 words.
> 
> I worked on this while tired as hell, so if you see something off, lemme know.


	2. Ultimate Revival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Take 2 of the prologue (and a bit of chapter 1 but shhhhh)

The sound of shallow breathing fills Kokichi's ears as he sits, pressed up against uncomfortable metal. He scowls and tries to phase through it, but it doesn't work. He huffs before realizing that ghosts don't breathe and that shouldn't be possible.

_ What…? Why? _

He blinks his eyes open and feels the sensation of working gravity, something he hasn't felt in hours. It's such an obvious sensation, you'd think it would be the first thing he noticed.

_ What… happened? We were watching as they left, Tsumugi was forming, Kiiboy had already formed… then… blackness. _

_ What went on between watching the survivors leaving and waking up… alive? No. I can't be alive, my body is still strewn all over the Exisal Hanger. But then, how is gravity affecting me, why am I corporeal, and how am I breathing. The only explanation is: I'm alive again. How? Unclear. Maybe I can- _

A knock on the metal interrupts his train of thought, completely scrambling it. It didn't sound right though, it was more like someone using a rock to knock. Kinda like Kib… but he's also dead, he  _ just _ exploded right in front of me. I saw his ghost!

Another knock, now accompanied by a voice, "Hello? Is there someone inside? I believe we need to talk about our current situation!"

Kokichi, not quite knowing what to do, opens the locker. He's greeted by bright, artificial blue eyes and a confident smile. After a second, he's also greeted with a metal hand. He takes it, and gets pulled up by a real, solid Kiibo.

"My name is K1-B0, but you can just call me Kiibo!" Hearing the beginning of the familiar introduction snaps Kokichi out of his head, and he grins.

"I'm Ouma Kokichi! Nice to meet you, Ultimate Robot!"

Kiiboy startles, "But, I never told you my Ultimate. Did you assume I'm the Ultimate Robot based on my appearance and name? That's robophobic!"

Kokichi puts up a hand and shakes his head, effectively silencing the robot boy. "Nishishi! Not at all, I simply already knew! I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader after all! Now, question. Do robots have dicks?"

Kiibo jumps, cheeks glowing with a faint blush, but he can't respond before Kokichi already parkoured to a different topic, "Not important, wow~! Those windows are locked tighter tha-n" he stuttered for a second, only because he was about to make a reference to Miu, who he shouldn't know yet, according to what he's observed, "a Pandora's box! Kinda sus, ey Kiiboy?"

"Sus? And my name is not Kiiboy! It's Kiibo, thank you."

"You're welcome!"

"Ehh?"

Kiibo's a learning algorithm, he'll learn how to translate Kokichi eventually. Until then, He might as well spell it out for the robot. "It's pretty suspicious, Kiibs." Kiibo blinks at the nickname but sighs, accepting that Kokichi is just weird.

_ "Rise and shine, ursine-!" _

The two teens' reactions couldn't be any more different, Kiibo jumps once more, clutching onto the smaller boy's arm, while Kokichi just turns over to look with a passive expression.

"Rise and shine, ursine!" The red one, who Kokichi has watched die twice now, calls out again. Kiibo screams next to him, very obviously not prepared for this. Kokichi rolls his eyes and steps in front of the robot.

"Hel~lo little half bears!" He makes his tone friendly, just for Kiibo, but his face has a dark and unsettling grin. His face practically screams murder, which is ironic considering the... future situation.

It's kinda obvious by now, he must've time traveled back to the first day at the Academy for Gifted Juveniles.

The Monokubs exchange glances.

"...Hey, isn't this supposed to be different?" Monosuke is the first to speak.

"Who fuking cares! I don't want to do all of that again!" Monokid breaks his guitar over his head. How many does he have?

"I think it's too late now, we'll just have to deal with it!" Obligatory-only-girl-of-the-group speaks up.

"..." Murderbot says nothing.

"How are they speaking-?"

"The same way you're speaking Kiiboy! C'mon, it's not that hard to recognize a robot and those," Kokichi jerks his free hand towards the smaller bears for emphasis, "are clearly not human."

Kiibo leans forward until his head is practically on Kokichi's shoulder. It's a lot lighter than Kokichi previously thought it would be, but given his new knowledge about Kiibo, it makes sense.

Kiibo used to be human, but they changed him. He's not anymore, he's a robot. How they accomplished that, he's unsure, but he knows it happened. Tsumugi played all of their auditions after all, even his own. It was kinda strange, seeing himself covered in bruises and nervous, trying to go through it as fast as possible. 'Signs of abuse' as Tsumugi so elegantly put it.

"So, what are you five here for? And… who are you?" Kiibo's voice forces Kokichi out of his head.

The Monokubs perk up at being addressed. The leader steps forward.

"We're the Monokubs! I'm Monotaro, and these are my siblings!"

Kokichi blinks at the introduction. They had never introduced themselves last time, they just said each other's names so you could eventually puzzle it out.

"Hell yeah!"

"..."

"..."

"...Monokid, you didn't read all of your line."

"Hell the monko!"

"That's even worse."

"It's ok Monosuke, he'll get the hang of it eventually!" Coconut Bra interrupted before it could get too far.

"Um…" Kiibo turned to the only robot not in the conversation, "What is this place?"

"..."

"Oh! Don't bother asking Monodam. All the years of abuse weigh heavily on his heart, so only those close to him get responses! Right Monodam?"

"..."

"Ehh? You won't even open your heart… to me?" Monotaro put his paws to his eyes, reminiscent of someone who is crying.

Kokichi blinks, realizing that he's acting like he's still an invisible ghost, and finally speaks up, examining his nails in disinterest. "Yeah, yeah I think we got it. Can you leave now?"

The Monokubs all jump, Monotaro speaking up in surprise, "But we haven't told you about the other 14 Ultimate students going to the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles!"

_ I forgot they were supposed to tell us that. _

"Well you have now, there's no reason for you to stay!" Kokichi swipes his free arm out, the other still in Kiibo's grasp. The Monokubs glance between each other before turning back to the teenagers.

_ "...So long, bear well-!" _

…

"They're gone now Kiiboy, you can let go of me."

"A-ah, I apologize!"

"Aaaaanyway~ shouldn't we check on the others?" While saying this, he turns and skips towards the door that Shuichi and Kaede walked through before. The slight smirk on his face is probably the reason Kiibo stays back.

After a few seconds of him waiting, the door opens, revealing the confident optimist being followed by the nervous pessimist.

"Hey!" Kokichi's enthusiastic greeting surprised both the pianist and detective, but Kaede only blinked while Shuichi jumped like a startled cat. 

"Hi! It's nice to meet you, I'm Akamastu Kaede."

"U-um, Saihara Shuichi."

"You're… an ultimate student too, right? I'm-" Kaede starts talking, but Kokichi has a small plan in mind and kinda needs to interrupt her.

"The Ultimate Pianist and Detective, riiight?" That certainly catches their attention. His plan isn't that difficult, he just has to make himself interesting and hope they stick to the script and don't kill him early or try to kill different people and/or him. If he makes himself interesting, they might not want to kill him because the audience likes him. 

If Tsumugi was lying and those videos were fake, then at least he planned for it. However, from what he saw, she believed what she was saying with her whole heart.

"Yeah... how do you know that?"

Kiibo's voice drifts in from near the lockers still, "I would like to know as well. He also knew my talent, Ultimate Robot."

Kokichi laughs into his hand before putting them behind his head, "I have ways of requiring knowledge. My secret organization has 10,000 members and they can find their way into anything." He starts examining his nails again, "Even government files."

There it is, that familiar curious look on Shuichi's face. Wait… considering he's being less of a nuisance, does that mean he should call them by their last names? Nah, it'll be fine. He has a backstory for this, and it's not even a full lie! Just a quarter of a lie.

"I've… never heard of an organization so large."

"That's why it's a secret! Or the size is a lie, you'll never know!"  _ You'll know in a week or so. You already know the right answer, Shumai. _

"A-ah… I see."

Kaede, ever the leader, quickly redirects us to the task at hand. Introductions. "Well, you never told us your name. You didn't either actually." That last part is directed at Kiibo, who had walked to stand next to Kokichi at some point.

"I'm Ouma Kokichi and this is Roomba!"

"I am not named Roomba, and the fact that you said that is very robophobic! You have made two robophobic remarks since we met!" He turns towards Kaede as Kokichi laughs, "My name is K1-B0, but I would like to be called Kiibo. It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh, I understand! Kiibo, the Roomba thing was just a joke, he didn't mean it." Kaede, always quick to reassure. Kiibo's eyes widen at the explanation, and he turns to Kokichi.

"I apologize! I thought you were being needlessly rude, but I suppose you weren't."  _ Wow, what a stiff apology. _

Kokichi continued ignoring the urge to yank off Kiibo's ahoge to free him from the voices. Ignoring the sound of an off tune piano and explosions playing in the back of his mind as he looks at those around him.

Kokichi calls behind him as he leaves, "I think we've done our introductions pretty well, so I'm gonna leave to go meet the rest! Kiiboy can come too if he wants."

The goodbye is quickly greeted by the sound of metal footsteps chasing after the small Supreme Leader, who has yet to share his ultimate talent with others.

\----------------------------

All the other introductions went pretty much the same, Kokichi telling them their talent and them not learning his. Of course, he couldn't do that to Rantaro as he had introduced himself by saying he didn't remember it. Kiibo had tried to bring up that Kokichi knew all the others' talents so he surely knew his as well, but Kokichi said that he wouldn't spill the beans before they're discovered.

Of course, soon after he had introduced himself to everyone, they got called into the gym.

"Ouma! Now isn't the time for daydreaming!" Kiibo's calls from down the hall. Kokichi hadn't noticed that he was spacing off again, probably a habit from being a ghost. Not a very helpful habit, like how he had attempted to walk through a wall earlier.

"Sorry Kiiboy! I was planning world domination!" That's a lie. He was actually thinking about how to end the game without everyone dying. Not like Kiibo needs to know that yet, as they haven't even been informed that they're in a killing game.

Walking up to the gym doors, he resists the fog threatening his mind. He knows how this will go, even if a few sentences may be said differently due to his new performance. Kokichi kinda wishes he didn't have to act, but otherwise he would be boring. Walking in the gym, his eyes are completely unfocused, like a walking corpse. This meant he ignored all of the Monobears' little skit. Honestly, the anime references are a bit dramatic but considering the mastermind is Tsumugi, it makes sense.

"What is so amusing?"

"It's just… when I said it before, I just kinda phoned it in and now I feel awkward… I want you students with your Ultimate-level talents to participate in a killing game."

"...K-Killing game? Us?"

"Please stop joking! Why would we agree to participate in a killing game?"

"Huh? You guys don't wanna do it?"

_ I'm… not sure when to interject. Last time I only talked to solidify my act but now… my act is still antagonistic, but not nearly as bad. I'm not going to use the mastermind plan, as I don't need to draw her out to make her slip up. All signs point to this being the same dimension, but back in time, so it's most likely still Tsumugi. On the off chance that it isn't, very unlikely, I'll need to be prepared. It has already been shown that she's willing to kill, and Monokuma is willing to back her up. I can't get rid of all the motives, only the key card and the necronomicon really, and I can't change them, unless Team Danganronpa changes the motives because I'm acting strangely. Maybe I should've acted the same and parroted the same lines as before, but then everything would repeat and no one would trust me. _

_ Trust is kinda important to the plan, at least with Shuichi but he'll only trust me if Kaede trusts me because of how dependent he is on her currently. What if I pull a Kaito and give him more support pillars? After Kaede got executed, Kaito became Shuichi's Emotional Support Person, and soon after, Maki joined. Maki is the only reason that Shuichi didn't break down, even though she definitely did. _

_ If I mention to Kaito that Shuichi needs friends in order to not crumble into a depressed puddle, at least right now, then he'll most likely try to be his friend, which wouldn't be that hard as Shumai is kind of a push over in the beginning. Kaede would accept Kaito's friendship, probably Maki's too if she gets dragged along, so it would probably work. What would Kaede's reaction be to Maki's real Ultimate Talent? She'd probably be concerned for the safety of the group, but not want to treat her like an outcast. We all know that Ryoma killed people, and Kaede accepted that with no issues. _

_ Hasn't Kirumi also killed people? I feel like I remember her mentioning getting hired as a hitman a few times. Add that to the fact that I've killed two people, even if they aren't dead anymore, and you got a class full of murderers- _

"Killing school semester... It's like a game." Oh right, avocado head speaks up here.

Korekiyo responds with his creepy ass laugh, "Kehehe… risking our lives for some silly game is absurd."

_ Oh fuck, this is when I spoke up- _

" _ Don't be an ass! _ "

_ Huh? _

"A killing game? How boring, it'll fall into a pattern faster then Miu's sense of humor." Kokichi put his hands behind his head, a small pout on his face, eyes closed.

"Hee!"

"Hey! How can you degenerate males be so calm! And how dare you insult Iruma-san!"

_ 'Calm,' huh. Rantaro's calm because he did this before, Korekiyo's calm because he's a serial killer, and I'm not calm at all. Learn to spot lies, Tenko. _

"Th-This has to be a lie… right? It's… a lie, right?"

_ Oh hush Tsumugi. There's more important things than the shit you're spewing. _

There's a small silence that echoes through the gym. Even keeping his eyes closed, Kokichi can feel the tension on everyone's faces.

Shuichi breaks the silence, quietly, like he's talking to himself, "I-I don't want… to be in a killing game… it's wrong, I… I'd never do that." 

Kokichi finds himself zoning off again, wondering about the voice. It sounded suspiciously like Miu, but she wouldn't say that right then. He refuses to open his eyes, slightly afraid of what he might see. His musing is interrupted by the annoying laughter of the Monobears. He finally opens his eyes to stare at them, a subtle annoyed tint placed purposefully in his gaze.

\----------------------------

An alarm rings through the whole gym, coming from everyone. The rest take out the Monopads while Kokichi simply looks at Shuichi's, who's standing next to him. The pad starts displaying the rules, but Kokichi already knows them, so he blankly stares at the screen.

Honestly, he just wants to go back to his dorm and figure out what the hell that voice was, even if he already has his suspicions. It's kinda hard to tune out Kaito's yelling, but he manages by counting the visible lines on Shuichi's jacket.

And then Kaede screamed at the top of her lungs enough for him to notice Shuichi's red and confused face so he stopped and instead started counting strands of Gonta's hair, ignoring the stab of guilt in his stomach.

It's only when Gonta starts leaving that he remembers the underground passage. He decides that he's still too tired for that and just stays next to Shumai, very obviously zoning out. It doesn't take him long to understand why he's so tired. He had fallen asleep the night before Kaito's escape. The day was filled with Kaito being an ass, then he got shot twice in rapid succession, one laced with poison, and proceeded to slowly die. Then he was squished and didn't get a chance to sleep. He was a ghost for two days before the world reset, and he's been alive for a few hours without getting any rest. Time travel has got to take some energy out of you.

Thankfully, Shuichi notices his exhausted state as he makes to leave, and hesitates a moment before tugging him along. If Kokichi remembers correctly, Shuichi and Kaede were the last to arrive and Kaede was the first to peek into the manhole, so he won't be missing anything.

In hindsight, his lack of energy is probably what made it so easy to ignore everything, which explains a bit more about pre-trial 3 Himiko.

When they get to the bunker, Kokichi returns to hiding his utterly exhausted state, acting like he did during the introductions. The only people he doesn't fool are Shuichi, who practically carried him here, and Kaede, who watched.

"Nyahahaha! They probably haven't noticed yet!"

Kaede is quick to cut in after Angie, "Then we should probably hurry, but Ouma, you're staying up here."

"What?" He knows for a fact that she never spoke there. Kokichi knows because the one to talk was him, "Why aren't I allowed to go into the-"

"Because you're so tired, you had to be dragged here. If you pass out down there, it'll be difficult to bring you back up. Besides! We need someone on watch, right?" Kaede smiles as she finishes her speech.

"Oh! If Ouma tired, he doesn't have to go in manhole," Gonta calls out.

"I-It's true. It seems… almost like he hasn't slept in days," Shuichi nervously adds to the conversation.

Korekiyo, once more, with his laugh, "Kekeke, there's plenty of old myths and legends told to dissuade people from staying awake, yet he persists. Interesting."

They end up with Kokichi and Himiko sitting by the door, Tenko standing guard because no one could persuade her to leave Himiko alone with him. Himiko is quickly asleep, head bowing forward as she dozes off. Kokichi, sitting on the other side of the door, tries to fight the weight on his eyelids and the feeling of his thoughts swimming, but fails pretty spectacularly.

Unlike Himiko, he ends up sliding until he's lying on the floor, deep, even breaths coming from his partially open mouth. Tenko nearly doesn't notice, too busy cooing over a sleeping Himiko.

  
  


When the rest return from the Death Road of Despair, Tenko and Kirumi carry Himiko while Gonta carries a Kokichi who's kinda awake but far too asleep to remember what happened when he wakes up.

When placed in his bed, he falls into a sleep too deep for dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,292 words.
> 
> I hope this lives up to your expectations, I know I said that the 'other ghosts' question would be answered, but then it wasn't so instead you get a hint! Thankfully, next chapter will be chock full of free time, so Kokichi can do a lot that's on his bucket list.


	3. Helpers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ghost question is finally answered, even if it makes no logical sense!

When Kokichi finally opened his eyes, it was right before the morning announcement. He had grown skilled in completely ignoring them during the Monotaro and Monophanie romance skit. Knowing what happened last time, they all probably agreed to meet in the dining hall.

Quickly changing out his clothes, he set off to the school. Of course, he just had to run into someone right after he opened his door. A grunt is heard as he practically flings the door into an approaching Kaito, who was probably coming to collect him as Kokichi shouldn't know about the dining hall meeting yet.

"Oh, you're awake! Good, thought I might have to pound on your door to get your attention. We're meeting in the dining hall!" Kaito presses his knuckles together in a weird fistbumb with himself.

"Interesting!" Kokichi said that before walking down the stairs. God, what and awkward continuation to a conversation, but it's kinda hard to be normal with the person who killed you.

"Ah, hey wait up! I was wondering, you don't seem like the type to be so exhausted." That's not even a question.

"You see, I was actually using my energy to keep the dome up because I'm the person behind all of this! Nishishi!" Kaito nearly interrupts him, probably with some speech of him trusting that Kokichi isn't the mastermind, "Or it's a lie! Maybe I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to sleep for three days, but maybe that's a lie too!" Wow, this plan of being trustworthy is going great.

"But what could you be so busy with that you didn't sleep for so long?" He's confused, head tilted like a puppy.

"Maybe I died and came back to life! I'm a ghost, Kaito oooo~"

"S-Stop Screwin around! Th-Things like G-Ghosts don't exist!" Kaito, despite looking a few seconds from pissing himself, is obviously trying to be stern, like a father scolding a child.

Kokichi, using his practice from the other game, makes one of the faces he knows scares the shit out of Kaito, "How would you know? Who gave you the right to say what certainly is or isn't?" 

Kaito was standing next to him. Was, as now Kokichi is chasing him with the face as he books it to the dining hall.

\----------------------------

Shuichi smiles to himself as banter slides through the air around him. He would probably be talking to Akamastu at the moment, but she's talking to Harukawa. Gokuhara is talking about bugs to Hoshi, excited that he cares enough to ask questions. Angie is happily kicking her feet as Iruma chats with Kiibo next to her, Tojo is serving everyone, even if no one asks her too. 

The quiet, slightly domestic atmosphere is broken by the sound of running feet.

_"It's Momota. No danger."_

Shuichi could feel himself relaxing, certain that whatever is happening isn't bad. Probably something to do with Momota considering he's the only one not here, other than Ouma. Just like he expected, Kaito threw the door open, nearly in tears with how afraid he is of the lighter footsteps behind him.

_"No danger. All is well."_

The footsteps turned out to be the only other missing person, Ouma. Shuichi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Everyone is alive and Momota isn't running from a murderous bear. He is, however, running from a frightening expression.

They both try to catch their breath, Momota grabbing his knees and Ouma flopping on the floor, before anyone speaks up.

"...What were you guys doing?"

Ouma, being a bringer of chaos, instantly shoves himself up and slaps a hand over Momota's mouth and yells out, "Kaito's scared of ghosts!"

Considering Momota's confused expression, he hadn't given Ouma permission to call him by his first name, and that's usually disrespectful, but considering Ouma's personality, it makes sense that he would call people by their first names. Besides, if he was being disrespectful, he would probably be smirking.

_"Kokichi calls everyone by their first names, or a nickname."_

Ouma is probably the type to give out nicknames too, but only if he likes you enough. Or if he's insulting you, like the names he's called Iruma. Actually, he called Iruma by her first name back in the gym, didn't he? It seems like no one noticed, it just felt natural. Interesting.

"I-I'm not scared of ghosts! They don't exist, so stop acting like they do!"

"Wow, you guys sure are excited today, huh?" A high pitched voice calls out, drawing their attention away from the newcomers. A few screams of surprise fill the air, some people stumbling backwards, as they register that it's Monokuma.

"Aaanywaaaay~ I have an announcement! Being a goody two shoes is the obvious way to survive in a killing game, just being forced into the game doesn't mean you're instantly ready to battle to the death, so I've decided to give you some… motivation to kill!"

Maki speaks up, "...Motivation to kill?"

"In short, a motive! That oughta add some mystery to the proceedings! Even if a killer is exposed, they could whip up a sob story to deceive everyone!"

"Wh-What are you saying? Your logic is impossible to understand…!"

"I will now announce the first motive! Make sure you record this moment for posterity!" Monokuma stretches his arms out wide, smile sharp and dangerous, "Now then, the special motive I've prepared is called the First Blood Perk! Wow! For the first murder that occurs, no class trial will be held! Can you believe it? That means the first one to kill someone will get to graduate, no strings attached!"

"No class trial will be held-?"

"Woow~ Monokuma! That 'no strings attached' rule is making me believe that everything is attached. Do you really think we'd believe you'd do that? The class trial sounds like it would be most of the fun for you, watching us argue and then send a classmate to their death."

There's a small shocked silence, it's almost like Monokuma had forgotten Ouma's here. Or he hadn't expected Ouma to speak.

"That, or everything I said was a lie to confuse everyone! You'll never know, will you?" Ouma's entire demeanor changed in a split second, going from completely serious to his normal, childish jokes and pranks.

_"No lie."_

Shuichi shudders, feeling like someone was whispering in his ear despite no one being close enough, but he can't ignore his feeling that Ouma was telling the truth, he truly believes that Monokuma is lying.

"Of course I'm not lying! If I say no strings attached, then no strings are attached!" Monokuma throws his arms up like an angry cartoon character, "I'm sorry that I made the class trial seem more important than it really is, so for the first murder, I've decided not to hold the class trial at all. Please just relax, calm down, and kill! After all, the first one's free!"

"...Huh? That's all? We just gotta kill someone to get outta here!?

"'That's all'? Iruma, what's that supposed to mean!? Please just calm down!' Kiibo's waving his arms in front of him, facing Iruma.

"First Blood Perk!? Don't make it sound like some kind of game show bonus you degenerate… bear!"

"Phuhuhuu… You say that, but I bet you're really happy, huh?" "There's no way I'm happy!"

"Nah, this is really boring. All that's happening is arguing, and I've seen more than enough of that." Another awkward silence after Ouma's contribution. He wasn't at the tunnel, so he's never seen them argue, so who was he talking about? "Or… am I lying? It's always fun to keep people guessing after all! Nishishi! Anyway, I think you've made your announcement MonoMono."

"MonoMono? No, that's a mindless prize machine!"

"So the same as you but with less gross humor and child abuse?"

_Ouma probably shouldn't anger Monokuma, we don't know what he'll do if we become an inconvenience…_

_But guessing by his smile, he's doing this because he's bored. It's almost like he knows- Monokuma can't murder. It's in the rules. That doesn't mean he can't stomp on a foot or something though, he never outlawed violence from himself towards others. Considering how 'interesting" Ouma is, he knew all of their talents but never mentioned his own, Monokuma would probably argue with him for fun. To make things interesting. So this is all like… a play? They're putting on a show… but why? Is it simply boredom or does Ouma have ulterior motives?_

Shuichi finds himself staring towards Ouma with his head tilted, similar to a puppy, eyebrows furrowed as he tries to make sense of the situation.

_Ouma does seem to be on our side, but what lengths is he willing to go to?_

_I should gather more data before I make a conclusion, but first I have to show Akamastu the door I found-_

As everyone watches, Ouma puts his arms near his head and makes a hand motion similar to scratching at a wall, while still arguing.

_"Rise and shine, ursine-!"_

"All this arguing… we can't let it continue!"

\----------------------------

_Oh fuck. I knew they would 'accidentally' squish Monokuma with the Exisals at one point, but I didn't think that me doing that would call them. Welp, it's fine. I haven't broken a rule and I didn't threaten him, so they can't kill me or anyone else, only look menacing._

The Exisals approach quickly, multiple people scrambling back, but despite being one of the people closest to the front door, Kokichi doesn't move. He has no reason too, considering the grunt and explosion.

A silence shoves its way into the room as everyone stares down at the pieces of Monochrome bear. It lasts a good minute before-

"F-Father!" "Daddy!" "Wh- This is Monodam's fault somehow!" "…" 

"Woow~! The robot got himself squished! Nishishi!"

"This isn't a laughing matter, Daddy used to say that we're all special and one of a kind! No he's dead!"

"What do you mean? He's got to have a few spares around, right?"

"There are no spares! We have to honor him… cook him into a stew…"

Kokichi finally turns from their little skit, finding that familiar look on the detective's face. _Seems I've managed to catch Shumai's attention. How convenient, for it to happen so early. If only I could up his confidence already, seeing him like this is so different from the boy who ended the killing game._

_"So long, bear well-!"_

"So… Monokuma's dead?"

"We don't know that, for all we know, Monokuma could've just… not told the Monokubs about his spares."

"Yeah, he definitely has more. If we could escape just by killing all the bears, they would've had more precautions in place. Or maybe not be small little bears." Kokichi backs up Kaede instead of sassing her like he'd done the last loop. 

Everyone looked down, dejected. Such a difference to the hope in all their faces and the annoyance at Kaede trying to bring them to reality.

"Kekeke… I believe we should depart for now. It appears we have nothing more to discuss." Kiyo left, followed by the others until it was only Kokichi. Only Kokichi, and the ones that he's been ignoring for the sake of his act. It's clear that they're suspicious, but it's too open here. There's two doors that anyone can enter at any time.

Kokichi walks out, walking the long way back to his room. Once there, he stops, turns around, and looks right into the eyes of Kaede's ghost.

She startles, lack of her gravity letting her float as she composes herself. "Can… you see us?"

His eyes dart around the air, Nanokuma's probably watching as he stares at his door. He can't answer verbally right now, but he has to make it clear. Kiibo seems to understand, as he stands in the middle of the room and starts looking around with Gonta. 

"Gonta no see any robot bugs." "I can confirm, I don't see any Nanokumas in here."

Kokichi smirks, "So, how is being dead still?" 

…

"You _can_ see us!?" "How fuckin dare you ignore us for a whole ass day!" "Thanks for saving… my ass back there. Wouldn't want...me? To almost die." They all say something, or multiple somethings, but they all start blending together at some point.

"Hey wait," all the ghosts quiet and the former ghost's words, "since I was dead before and can see you, can you guys still touch me?"

Kaede, like before, is the first to come up to him. She puts a hand out and moves to pat him on the head. The moment they make contact, her feet touch the ground. She's not any less ghostly, slightly see through, small nearly unnoticeable echo to her voice when she says, "Huh?" after her shoes make tapping noises, but she's solid. This is proven by her slapping his nearby wall with her free hand and hearing the noise that wouldn't usually happen.

"I'm… what?" 

"Wait what the fuck? When we touch the dwarf we can touch other shit?"

"When you touch Kokichi you regain your corporeality. Kekeke… how interesting." 

"How divine! But but but, that brings a different question! What if we try to touch someone else while touching Kokichi? They would feel it, no?" 

Kokichi mulls over the question before smiling, "Well Angie, we can't exactly answer that from in here, riiight~?"

And that's how Kokichi started walking around with eleven ghosts floating behind him. If anyone else could see it, they'd probably laugh because he's being followed by people so much taller than him.

They were actually arguing about who to test it on, when it should already be obvious. Based on what Kaede is saying, Shuichi is in the library with her living self, showing her the mastermind door but will be done soon. Kirumi is probably cleaning something and busy, Gonta and Ryoma are looking for bugs together, Himiko is being dragged around by Tenko with Angie tagging along, Kaito is bothering Maki because "she looked lonely" based on the argument, Rantaro doesn't trust anyone at all, not Tsumugi or Kiibo as they both have connections to the outside, Korekiyo is too perspective and they still aren't sure if he could actually see ghosts as he refuses to answer, Miu would say something dirty and he doesn't feel like dealing with that right now. 

That's the entire class, and the only ones that will be free of their activities soon are Kaede and Shuichi. They're all too engrossed in their bickering to notice that he's been leading them to the basement this whole time. Experiments are more effective when you have multiple test subjects after all!

They only stop when Kokichi speaks up, "Hey Shumai! Hi Kayayday!" They both jump at his loud greeting, Kaede looking confused at the nickname while Shuichi just nods like he was proven correct for some reason.

"Hi, Ouma." Shuichi waves slightly, averting his eyes to look just under Kokichi's feet. _It would've been funnier if he looked over my shoulder, right into a group of invisible ghosts, but beggars can't be choosers._

Kokichi walks up to the duo until he's just outside where he's noticed their bubbles are. He's going to have to improvise without letting them know he has ulterior motives, aka a science experiment.

"What are you duo duoing down here?" Kokichi smirks a bit at the wordplay while multiple groans ring out behind him, a single one coming from in front of him. Shuichi gave an amused huff which is… nice.

"We just wanted to... look at some of the b-books." Wow what a shitty lie, Shuichi. Even if Kokichi didn't already know the truth, he could spot that in a heartbeat. His eyebrow raises as… Ghost Keade puts a hand on his shoulder, feet tapping the ground again. 

"That's a pretty bad lie Shuichi! If I didn't know about the hidden door, I would think you two were doing something bad." Kokichi puts a finger to his lips as the pair jumps, seemingly for two reasons. They heard Kaede's feet hitting the floor, and Kokichi's words. He hadn't thought about them hearing her, but it makes sense. Could they hear her talking though? 

"How do you know about it? I discovered it last night and investigated more after waking up this morning…" Shuichi's brows are furrowed as he presses the side of his knuckle to his lips, looking off to the left. As he speaks, Ghost Keade reaches towards her living doppelganger, finger pressing against her shoulder. The effect is instantaneous, Kaede jumping and breaking the detective's train of thought as she nearly falls into the bookcase he was staring at.

"Ah- Akamastu are you ok?" Shuichi puts his arms out like he wants to help but isn't sure how. Kaede pushes herself off of the bookcase with a confused and startled expression.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine. Just… felt something poke my shoulder. I was probably just imagining things though." The Ghost Kaede blinks before slapping her palm against Shuichi's forearm. A similar reaction comes from the jumpy detective, but the sound of her hand meeting his arm causes the living Kaede to jump as well.

"...Wow. What's got you two so jumpy all of a sudden? Are the ghosts Kaito was running from earlier bothering you?" Kokichi innocently tilts his head, tone joking but face blank.

Kaede is quick to glare, puffing out her cheeks, "Ouma, are you doing this?"

"Doing what? Causing random overreactions? Maybe, it's all part of the puzzle after all." A puzzle is nothing without the pieces. Tsumugi provides them too slowly, it takes forever to finish the game, so Kokichi will have to provide the pieces himself. He'll have to be extra subtle though. "Let's hope the people around you don't get bored of seeing you struggle to put it together, nishishi!" 

_THAT WAS NOT SUBTLE. Well, kinda but… not enough. They wouldn't know, but Team Danganronpa would probably notice, and that's the opposite of what I want!_

"What happens if they do?" Ah, Shuichi's digging for information. He's probably not aware that he's doing it.

"Well, based on what Monokuma says, you'll be killed." Kokichi keeps his face blank. At least he's telling the truth, even if it's not a nice one. It's kinda hard to fight the habit of spilling a hundred lies from his lips, but he's managing.

"No, that's wrong! We're not going to kill each other! No matter what any of the Monobear's say." Kaede refutes his claim, despite not even thinking about it.

Kokichi raises an eyebrow, "I never said anything about killing each other. Is the idea of murdering your classmates so ingrained in your mind that you forgot about the giant murdering mechas? Do you really think the bears wouldn't try even harder push us to murder? I'm not sure if you've noticed, but our memories aren't the most reliable, who knows what he could hold over their heads or tempt us with." He ends his little speech with a finger to his lips, "I don't want anyone to die as much as you do Kaede, but the bears are ready and willing to push us until we break."

As he was talking, the ghosts in the room started moving towards them. Multiple reach out and silently support the only living person able to see them, hands resting on his shoulder, multiple grabbing his fingers, one pressing their shoes together. Most of them look slightly guilty, knowing of promises made and broken like they didn't matter, thinking of hypotheticals they could've ended the game with.

Kokichi sighs and starts walking towards the hidden door, friends in tow as Shuichi and Kaede watch, one shocked, the other kinda dejected.

"Y'know," they both jump at the sound of Kokichi speaking again, "this is a really bad lair. All good mastermind lairs have multiple entrances, and this one was so obvious. It's almost like we were meant to find it. We could completely stop all entrance to this door just by placing three guards at it."

Then, Kokichi walks away, most of the ghosts following.

…

"Fuck, I just ruined all chances of Shumai trusting me didn't I."

" _No_ ! _It_ 'll _b_ e fi _ne_!" The subtle tint in Kaito's voice makes it sound like he's trying to suggest it, but he's not doing it on purpose.

Kokichi doesn't respond, just continues walking until he's back upstairs.

\----------------------------

A stunned silence echoes after Ouma leaves the room, door thudding heavily behind his small form.

"Saihara, do you have any clue what that was?"

"I think… he was trying to help without making it obvious. Kiibo mentioned that he called himself the Ultimate Supreme Leader during his introduction, but we all assumed it was a lie. How else would he know about these things? And our talents?"

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot that he knew our talents. I'm still confused about it though…"

"...It seems like he knows more than he wants to, or can tell us…" Shuichi presses the side of his knuckle against his lips as he thinks, tilting his head off to the side. It's a familiar pose, as he does this when he's trying to focus. 

"Can?" Akamatsu squints at him, like taking in less visual information will help her figure out the answer.

"He mentioned it earlier, 'Let's hope the people around you don't get bored of seeing you struggle to put it together.' He's acting like being boring is a death sentence. If he just told us everything outright… well, that's boring, isn't it?"

"...Yeah, that makes a lot of sense actually! And he kept glancing around like he was being watched!"

"A-Ah… no. He was looking at specific places… almost like he could see things we can't…"

"Saihara, are you taking the things he said about ghosts seriously? Do you believe in ghosts?"

"..."

"Saihara…?"

"Yeah…" Shuichi looks down at the floor between his feet in self-deprecation.

\----------------------------

Walking back, Kokichi didn't expect to run into anyone, especially not being stopped, but that's exactly what happened. All of the ghosts had scattered to watch over and influence the others, an attempt to suggest them away from murder, when Rantaro of all people noticed him in the hall.

"Oh, hey Ouma. Or would you prefer Kokichi considering you call everyone by their first names?" His posture and expression scream relaxation and nonchalance, but his eyes are sharp. Damn, from Shuichi to Rantaro, Kokichi sure is talking to a lot of smart and observant people today.

"I don't mind being called Kokichi!" Time to use that backup story to avid questioning, "I'm not actually sure why people get mad when I call them by their first names…"

Rantaro raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms, "But didn't your parents teach you? It's impolite and disrespectful to call someone by their first name without permission."

_Play it up…_ Kokichi tilts his head, finger on his lips once more, "It is? The orphanage workers never mentioned that…" he muttered that last part to himself, just loud enough for Rantaro to hear it. His reaction of blinking twice before frowning for a second makes it apparent that he does.

He quickly covers his reaction and shrugs, "I don't think anyone here minds, especially Angie, so you're good. What was your childhood like to not know this?"

"Ooh! I had a lot of friends, 10,000 to be exact! They're all part of my secret organization, gathering information from even the weirdest places." It's almost whiplash, to be acting so childlike after his speech to Shuichi and Kaede.

Rantaro laughs at his response, "Ah yes, the organization that apparently told you all of our Ultimate Talents… including mine."

"Still not sharing! It's always more rewarding to figure things out yourself."

"Yeah, I figured. So, what are you doing now that Monokuma is dead?"

Kokichi shakes his head, "You say that like he isn't coming back. I said it in the dining hall, didn't I? For all that work they did to be over in a second… I don't believe it."

"Ha, yeah. I don't either, but everyone else is trying to stay positive."

The two grape haired boys continued to walk around and talk as there was nothing else to do but sleeping.

\----------------------------

Kokichi's sitting in his room. He had parted with Rantaro and went off to grab his whiteboard to slowly drag it back to his room and hope no one sees. He's not quite sure if he managed to succeed in that last part, but he tried.

It was quite easy to make a coded language, similar but not the same to the one he used with D.I.C.E so that it will hopefully confuse Team Danganronpa. His mind starts wondering as he scribbles stuff down in his code. Occasionally, he'll write the wrong letter out of code, then write the actual letter in code, just to confuse the people trying to decode it.

As they always say, spite is the world's greatest motivation. Boy does Kokichi feel motivated as fuck right now.

_Ding dong, bing bong!_

Monodam is the only one onscreen. He says nothing and the monitor shuts off again. Kokichi simply raises an eyebrow and continues writing, happy that he didn't fall out of the code. He's writing down everything that led to the murders and all his theories. 

_According to the ghosts, everything appears the same, but we can't be quite sure. I have Rantaro watching the Motherkuma for all of tonight, Kirumi following Tsumugi, and Tenko, Angie, and Korekiyo searching the school for more secrets since they can go through walls. Everyone else is making suggestions to their living counterparts, trying to discourage a murder, like convincing Miu that the world is perfectly fine waiting for her._

_She probably only chose me to kill because of how much of a little shit I was, and I don't want to sacrifice Gonta again, even if he forgave me._

_We can't have anymore ghosts running around this school, Monokuma will just have to deal with it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4,349 words  
> I got stuck so many times during the conversation with Rantaro. The conversation probably feels unnatural because I had no clue how to keep it going and ended up giving up on it.


	4. This took... Far too long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is probably going to be kinda boring. I wouldn't know, as of writing this I haven't started the actual chapter‚ but I feel like it's gonna be boring.

Kokichi opens his eyes in a slightly uncomfortable position, getting up and ready slowly and with a pout, knowing that Monokuma will put on another skit today. He practically ignores the entire world as he walks through the school to get to the dining hall.

He is, as was usual, one of the first people there. There's multiple ghosts floating around, Angie poking her head in through the ceiling from the second floor. He ignores them all and sits down at his spot, near Shuichi, but not right next to him. Kirumi is quick to give him a breakfast plate, having asked everyone their tastes yesterday, along with some help from ghosts.

Kokichi zones out while eating until he feels someone staring at him. Looking up, that person reveals themself to be Shumai, who quickly averts his eyes. Looking around, the only person who hasn't arrived yet is Kaede, leaving Shuichi without his usual conversational partner. Kokichi, being one of the people closest to the detective and having made himself interesting, is the obvious choice.

The trickster tilts his head at him, waiting for the anxious boy to start the conversation. He tries to forget all of his insecurities over his plan probably failing.

"Um, Ouma, you never told us how you know where… it is. We got kinda distracted by the ghosts." Shuichi pulls his hat down further to cover his blush from his attempt at a conversation starter. 

"So you believe that there's ghosts?" Shuichi's blush got deeper as he registered the question, probably regretting opening his mouth. Kokichi ignores it and starts talking under his breath, "Good! Maybe you'll figure it out faster than I thought."

It was really bait to convince Shuichi that Kokichi was trying to help him discover what's going on, but he wouldn't realize that until he overthinks. Then he would keep telling himself that he's being paranoid so it would be fine.

_"Of course my sidekick believes in… ghosts."_

_"Are ya really still scared of ghosts limp dick? You're surrounded by them!"_

_"Iruma!"_

_"I'm n-not scared!"_

"...Are you going to answer the question?" Oh right. He asked a question. Time to ignore Kaito and Miu's bickering.

"Nishishi! It's pretty obvious, looking at the scratches and the mess-"

"Can you two not talk about the state of your room this morning! I'm trying to fucking eat!"

_"Iruma! That's rude!"_

_"Living me is right though!"_

"Iruma! That is incredibly rude!"

"Don't say that to her, degenerate male!"

Kokichi interrupts his newly caused chaos with a question he never got to ask, "But is he even a male? Can robots have sexes? Kiibs, you go by male pronouns but are you a dude?"

_"..."_

"I…cannot tell if that's robophobic. I do not have a sex, but I am a male!" His cheeks are glowing with embarrassment as he answers.

_"This isn't a very decent conversation…"_

"All this yelling is getting us nowhere."

"Atua says that this is a pointless topic!"

All yelling stops as the door opens again, revealing a very confused Kaede. The silence lasts for a while, a staring contest between the teenagers.

"Phuhuhu, what an interesting situation, kuma!"

Multiple screams echo around the room, the most notable coming from the door, as the weird Jibakuma yokai thing pops up.

"No, no, are you guys blind or something? I ain't Monokuma, kuma. After dying in a tragic car accident, I've been reborn as a Yo-Kai! Call me Jibakuma, kuma!"

"Jibakuma…?" You can practically hear the disbelief in Kiibo's voice as he rolls his eyes.

"From now on, I'm the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, kuma! You might feel uncomfortable at first, but eventually you'll get used to it."

"..."

_"..."_

"... ...Huh? Did I slip up?"

"No duh, ya fukin' fraud! Go find another car to run you over! And this time, stay dead!"

_"Iruma."_

_"He should've!"_

"Such a low level cosplay… I can't bear to look. Geez."

"I have an important question… haven't you mistaken ghosts for yokai? Yokai are mythological creatures first created back when humanity lived closely with nature. Back then, they were the embodiment of unexplainable natural phenomenon-"

"Man, you guys are buzzkills! I was all set for adventure before you started yelling at me!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have done this stupid skit on the first place, since you knew we wouldn't believe you." Kokichi examined his nails, trying to look as utterly bored as possible.

"...? How could I have known that? I'm not a mind reader! This is why I hate teenagers! I'd have cash for days if I was dealing with the under 10 crowd!"

_"Rise and shine, ursine-!"_

And Kokichi started zoning out again. He knew what was happening, the time limit motive, so there's really no reason to pay attention. He just wanted to go back to his room to get the reports from Rantaro, Kirumi, Tenko, Angie, and Korekiyo. He had the feeling that he knew the answers though.

_Rantaro and Kirumi will confirm that Tsumugi went to Motherkuma and "birthed" a new Monokuma. Tenko, Angie, and Korekiyo probably didn't find anything. Shuichi and Kaede, the living ones, are begging Miu to upgrade the disposable cameras, and for some reason not using the camera I did in my trick. I could probably stop the whole thing by giving them the camera actually._

_If what I learned last time is true, he probably was forced to not notice it by design. Or Monokuma hid it from him, possibly Tsumugi, it might just not be in the storage room. There's so many options. I wonder if ghost Kaede told him to use the camera?_

_Planning ahead is the one thing I'm good at, which is why Ryoma has been suggesting to himself that maybe his old tennis team misses him, but planning too far ahead will just be stressful. With that in mind, how much of the killing game is set in stone? All of it, or just the beginning? If it's just the beginning, how will everything be affected? If it's all planned out, are they willing to change it in response to me acting off? There's too many unknown variables to say anything for sure._

_The only thing we know for sure, those bears suck at improvising. These are the same things they said the first one around but with a few added sentences in response to my words-_

"That's not the problem, donkey face!"

_Fuck-_

"Aw, so the murder show is going to continue? How boring, not like I've been saying that since the beginning! Now, are you done yet?"

"Don't act so relaxed, degenerate male!"

"So that's how it's going to be… if we want to end this… we have to take down Monokuma _and_ the person behind him." Rantaro stares directly into everyone's soul with a single glance, possibly trying to determine the ringleader by reactions.

"Well duh, Rantaro! They went through all things they did to bring us here, you really think they're going to just let us go?"

"I predicted there would be a spare, but I did not expect it to be built within the academy… Either way, I assumed this would happen... This development was not surprising."

"Is that so? Then did you also assume this next exciting development?" The bear swings his arms out like a cartoon villain and clears his throat, "Now then, I'm pleased to announce an additional motive!"

"An additional motive!?"

"A time limit is now in effect! If a murder does not occur by nighttime, two days from now… then every student forced to participate in this killing game will die!"

Monokuma keeps going, but Kokichi ignores it in favor of watching ghost Kaede. Her face is worried, and looking back and forth between Monokuma and Shuichi. Her face morphs into determination as she starts whispering urgently at her living friend. Kokichi can't recall why at the moment, but she'll probably tell him later.

_ Her ahoge swings as she moves her head, yet they can't interact with the air so it shouldn't be dragging at all. There's also the whole thing with gravity, like how I was able to stand sideways without noticing or my clothes moving. Clothing only seems to move if forced, like a skirt swinging while the wearer walks, so why is her ahoge reacting to the air particles hitting it as it moves, causing it to drag behind? Since we have no gravity, how does clothing stay down? Angie is still upside down, but her jacket and shirt are following her legs, pointing down where they would if she was a living person standing on the ground. Speaking of, Kaito's coat still flapped in the air as we flew around, as did the straps wrapped around my pants. _

_ … _

_ Why am I even thinking about this? _

Kokichi blinks himself back into reality, finding both Kaedes glaring at Monokuma. 

"Wow, killing everyone right off the bat? That sounds pretty boring, and considering your whole act, I don't think you will."

The bear stares at him in silence before quickly leaving, abandoning the surrounding students in silence once more. Kokichi, not having a reason to stay, also leaves. His conversation with Shuichi, that he almost forgot about, ended abruptly and wasn't picked back up due to Monokuma, so he doesn't have anyone to chase after him and force him into a conversation.

Once he closes the door, he hears Rantaro's voice. "Guys wait. I found out something new."

"But but! Shouldn't someone grab Ouma if you're sharing information?"

"It's not about the game, it's about Ouma. Turns out, there's a reason he calls everyone by their first names-"

"Um… He also uses nicknames. He called me "Shumai" in the library."

"That's… not surprising. He was raised in an orphanage with most likely negligent workers. He genuinely doesn't know that it's disrespectful. All his organization members are probably from there too."

"...What?"

"Harukawa? What's up?

"...It's not important. I just have a few questions for him."

That was all Kokichi heard before he walked away, shoes tapping on the floor and hiding the voices behind him.

_ I've been hoping to completely avoid Maki, but she's not actually a murderer. In fact, she's one of the few that never killed or died. Kinda ironic. I wonder what her past is really like. Based on what I know of my actual past, Rantaro isn't that far off with his theory that I was neglected. "Signs of abuse" according to Tsumugi… that weird dream I had once… when I look into the mirror and half expect a black eye… it all points to the same thing. My home and school lives weren't happy. Since mine is so bad, what is everyone else's past like, especially since they agreed to a death game. _

_ If they agreed to a death game, Tsumugi still could've been lying. I can't jump to conclusions here, it could be life or death.  _

Kokichi is made aware that he's at his dorm by distractedly walking right into his door. Everyone in his vicinity is made aware that he just ran into his door by him screeching "Fuck!" at the top of his lungs as he's knocked on his ass. Kokichi ignores the several echoing laughs behind him as he stands and throws the door open, face red from the door and embarrassment.

His spies quickly faze through the door, some still laughing at him. Keebo isn't there to check for Nanokumas, so Kokichi can't talk unless he disguises it as talking to himself, which he has done before and is part of his character.

Rantaro and Kirumi go first, "Tsumugi did go into the mastermind's lair. It took a while to make a new one, which is why she was spotted this morning. She also needs sleep, as she's just as mortal as the rest of us." "I kept talking at her, and it's clear it's starting to work a little. There is a possibility of her betraying Team Danganronpa for us if I continue to plant doubts faster than she can dispel them."

Tenko, Angie, and Korekiyo are next. "We didn't find much inside the academy, but there's so much outside!" "Yep, yep! However there is an elevator that leads to somewhere! Sadly, the Exisals haven't dug it out all the way, but Atua says they will eventually!" "There are buildings between the outer cage and inner wall. One has a large satellite on top, presumably to broadcast our situation to the outside world."

Kokichi nods, trying to look like he's lost in his thoughts again. One of his D.I.C.E members had commented that he either moved his head around with his thoughts, or stared ahead blankly. Of course, she's probably fake. That's most likely why he can't remember Pigtail's name. Or any of their names to be honest. Maybe they never shared names and just used codenames. Too many possibilities.

There's so many different possibilities, it's starting to get frustrating.

He's so busy with his thoughts, he misses the moment that the ghosts leave.

Kokichi sighs, he can't just sit in bed all day, so he might as well go hang out with someone. Pulling out his Monopad reveals that Rantaro is with Kaito, Shuichi and Kaede are still together, Maki, Ryoma, and Korekiyo are in the dorms, Gonta and Angie are running around, Tenko is with Himiko, Kirumi is most likely doing chores or something, and Miu is probably trying to sexualize Kiibo. He's not going to hang out with Tsumugi.

A few would act weird and would let it "spill" that Rantaro told them about his past, so he can't he can't hang around them today. That crosses off: Kaito, Rantaro by association, Gonta and Angie, Tenko, and Himiko also by association. Kaede and Shuichi probably don't want to see him for now and Korekiyo is a serial killer so they're also out.

That leaves Ryoma, Miu and Kiibo, or Maki.

Kokichi's probably overthinking this, but that's really all he does. Maki's looking for him, but he'd rather avoid dealing with that for now. He could probably drop by Miu later to discreetly mention one of his ideas, but it's already been shown that subtly isn't a very strong skill in his set. Ryoma did nothing but be depressed, and Kokichi can barely remember anything about him.

Might as well hang out with Ryoma to actually learn something about him.

\----------------------------

All Kokichi learned is that Ryoma needs therapy, which he kind of already knew.

He needs a new plan. Shuichi and Kaede have separated, but that's all that's changed other than a few people moving around, and Kaede is with Kirumi. Well, other than Maki. Shuichi it is. Kokichi keeps his Monopad out so he can dodge Maki as he goes to Shuichi, who's in the hallway by the gym.

The walk there is uneventful, other than Angie and Gonta excitedly running past him. Soon, he finds Shuichi sitting at one of the tables with a few ghosts hanging around him. Kokichi slides in next to him, bumping into his shoulder and effectively scaring the crap out of him.

"A-Ah! Oh, Hey Ouma." Clearly not used to short people, Shuichi tips his hat upward to avoid Kokichi's eyes instead of down, accidentally meeting a floating Himiko's eyes.

"Hey Shumai! How's it going?"

"A-Ah, well… I noticed something weird about what Monokuma said while he was announcing the additional motive… it could just be me not understanding though." Oh yeah, that. Kokichi had honestly forgotten about that. It's not like he thought it would ever be important again after he figured out what he thought was the answer, even if it was wrong.

"Um… what do you think will happen next?"

"Well, there might be a hidden loophole in the instructions, but I'm pretty sure you already have that figured out. Or maybe I'm lying and have no faith in you at all! Nishishi!"

"Ouma-"

"Doesn't matter anyway! That dumb bear was probably lying anyway to scare us! I'm a liar y'know, it's pretty easy to spot lies." That's half false, Monokuma doesn't have many tells so it's harder to tell when he's lying. "Or maybe I'm not a liar! Who knows, with all our messed up memories."

"You keep mentioning our memories…"

\----------------------------

"...Is there a reason for it?" Shuichi looks down at the small boy next to him. They're still pressed strangely close together at the table, but considering what he heard from Amami, it makes sense. Amami could've been tricked by another of Ouma's lies, but it seems unlikely. Ouma had been muttering to himself, just like this morning before Miu interrupted their conversation.

"Well… do you remember how we got here, Shuichi?"

"No, none of us do." This was already established, why is Ouma bringing it up again?

"Well, that means they got rid of those memories, and if they managed to get rid of those…" Ouma looks at him expectantly, not in the eyes, but lower, around his cheek. Shuichi doesn't say anything, but the intent isn't lost on him. If they could erase some of their memories, who's to say they couldn't erase all of them?

"Hey! With all these memories hypothetically missing, who knows what else they did! Maybe they changed our whole pasts! Or maybe not, who knows." Shuichi startles, not expecting him to say anything but that's… a good point. Their pasts mold who they are so they could've made whole new personalities for them without them noticing. With his mastermind theory, even they could've had memories planted in order to make them unconditionally loyal.

_And that means, I could save them if I had evidence to back this up. It's… not something I want to think about, the possibility that my entire life is fake, but it would make some sense. The colorful people around me feel like something out of a manga, with what I've heard of everyone's pasts. Momota is probably lying though. Gokuhara… I can't doubt him, but it is unbelievable._

Unbeknownst to the detective, the supreme leader is still there. Ouma is staring at the anxious boy, wondering how long it will take him to flash back into reality. From the outside, it may look weird, Shuichi looking off to the left with the side of a knuckle pressed against his lips, Ouma sitting a bit too close and staring at his face with a blank expression, but it's not like they really care. Can't care when you aren't aware it's happening.

_If we go by that hypothesis, we can't really be sure of anything can we?_

_…_

_How long have I been looking at this window?_

When the taller of the boys finally turns back around, spotting the purple one, he flinches, having expected Ouma to be gone by now. Of course, it doesn't last long.

"You." The boys both jump at the voice, but Shuichi has no time to turn around before Ouma is being pulled away like a toddler. Fitting description, considering Harukawa has finally found the little liar. Shuichi watches with wide, confused and startled eyes as Ouma gets dragged out of sight.

\----------------------------

_Getting dragged across the floor isn't nearly as fun as it used to be._ If Kokichi's being honest, it's only reminding him of Kaito dragging him to the pancake machine. Thankfully, ghost Kaito is also here, floating as Kokichi tries not to lose a shoe. And it's not completely the same, as Maki's hand is holding his collar like the scruff of a cat instead of his hands.

The silence around them is heavy, stifling almost. It would last if Kokichi didn't have loads of practice on breaking silences completely inappropriately. Of course he needs a topic, but he has to make sure Maki doesn't get suspicious.

"Wow Maki, taking one of the shortest people here and dragging them off to a secluded location? One would almost think you're going to kill me!" She quickly stops, turning and glaring at him. Searching through his memories, he remembers that he had made it quite clear that he didn't believe her Ultimate Talent, even if Kiibo didn't catch on. Ah, too much antagonising will end in death then.

"I have questions. You will answer."

"If you say so!"

Eventually, Kokichi gets thrown into Maki's room and the door closes behind him. By that time, he's decided that legs are overrated and he's not going to use them. So he just lays on the floor, staring at the floor, as Maki walks past to lean on a wall. 

"How much do you know about me."

"That depends on whether or not you're going to kill me." Predictably, her frown deepens and she shoots him another glare. He laughs before Kaito interrupts.

" _If you call her a murderer, I will punch you_."

_Well…Understandable. She's not technically a murderer._

"Well, miss assassin I haven't said anything to anyone yet so I don't think it matters much." As he watches, her fingers twitch like she's seconds away from launching at him, Kaito floats next to her so he can dissuade her from attacking the liar.

Maki's voice is cold and dark when she speaks, "How did you figure it out." It's not a question, even if it's worded like one, it's a demand. And well… he can't exactly tell her the truth now can he?

"I told you already, silly! My organization knows basically everything." Kokichi can't remember their specifics, nor his actual past, so why not call the ghosts his organization? "We've stopped hundreds of people who tried to kill us for knowing too much! Or maybe that's a lie, maybe it was only a few. Who knows after all, I _am_ a liar."

She scowls down at the small boy, seemingly not believing him which is fair. "How did you even recruit that many people, there's not that many children in a single city."

_Ah, she's trying to ask the question she grabbed me for. Might as well let her._

"I grew up in some pretty crowded environments. Orphanages are like that sometimes."

"Orphanages?" He pretends to freeze at her word, like he didn't mean for that to slip out. After spending so much time pretending in games with D.I.C.E and to be the ringleader, he doesn't doubt his abilities. His only doubts are his memory and his subtlety skills, considering his last games all had over dramatic characters.

"Hm. What was it called?"

_Oh fuck um-_

_"I think there is a cult or something?"_

"I don't remember actually, just that there was a cult funding it." Kokichi shrugs, looking to the floor with a blank expression. _Why are we doing this? Are we trying to convince Maki that we knew each other or something?_

Her eyes narrow down at him, frown growing slightly before she sighs, turning away from him. Taking this as a sign from Angie's god, he leaves. Finally. It's… already dark? Damn, how long did he talk to Ryoma?

Ok then, he should probably be in his room already. Day one of the time limit is over with, let's see if he can be more productive tomorrow.

\----------------------------

"Kayayday!" She jumps at Kokichi's call. "What were you planning on doing today?"

"I was just going to… hang out with people I guess." Kaede shrugs as she replies. He nods, not caring at all about her answer before he keeps going, "That's nice, what are you planning for the time limit!"

"Uh-"

\----------------------------

Nope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,896 words  
> It has been too long. Words are starting to lose meaning. I hate this chapter, and (at the time I'm writing this) I'm still only on the conversation with Shuichi after Kokichi hangs out with Ryoma. - August 6th
> 
> AAAAAAA -conversation with Maki, August 15
> 
> Ok yeah I know I kept saying that this would have 2 days in it… but it's so long and took so much energy. So you get a shitpost. -August 20
> 
> Edit: so i did end up fixing this chapter. It used to say the original announcement that Monokuma gave, not Shuichi's retelling. In the original, monobear said "all student participating," not "all students forced to participate."
> 
> I might have missed a few times where this is mentioned, so please let me know if I did. I only fixed the announcement and conversation with Shuichi.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing really happened on day 4 so I'm mostly skipping it, a few more snippets are thrown in tho. Now the chapters and days line up, which is kinda nice. Probably won't for long though. Also, from now on, the living will be referred to with nicknames. I'll put a reminder at the end of chapters (if I remember) so y'all don't forget. Of course… I'm really bad at nicknames. Please send in nicknames? 
> 
> Disclaimer!: I edited the last chapter a bit, now Monokuma DOES say that only those forced to participate die and the dialogue between Shuichi and Kokichi are a bit.. finicky and weird but I made it work

Once Kokichi's day started, it kept going. Ain't no rest for the dumbass, even after he closed his eyes for good. First there was the previously shown conversation with Kaede, then he bothered Kirumi:

"Heeeeyy mom!"

"I am… not your mother."

"WAAAAAHH I TIME TRAVELED AND MOMMY DOESN'T REMEMBER MEEEE!" Technically, yes. But the conversation makes the context sound different.

"Are you implying that you're from the future? That is quite impossible. If you look at the science, your body would have turned into dark matter and you would explode."

"..."

Then he messed with Gonta:

Kokichi quickly ran up to the gentle giant, finding him glancing around. "GOOOONNNNTAAAAAAA-! Omf-" Kokichi proceeded to run into him at full speed. He honestly should've expected to be caught.

He blinks at Gonta, eye to eye and kinda wishing that Gonta would put him down. "Oh! Hello Ouma!" He smiles, looking like sunshine incarnate. Ghost Angie does cartwheels in the background, chased by Ghost Kirumi _(that's such a mouthful to think about every time, I should really make a nickname for all of the living people so I can differentiate)_. "Do you want to look for bugs with Gonta?"

He only hung out with Gonta for a few minutes before he was interrupted by Kiyo of all people. His ghost, Korekiyo, is floating over his shoulder, mask pulled down, mumbling. Seems that Korekiyo doesn't have "Sister".

"Ah… Ouma and Gokuhara. Hello."

"Heeey, Kiyo! Here to sacrifice someone?"

"Sacrificing others is not good Shinguji!"

_"That is not what we're here for…"_

Korekiyo stands slightly to the side of Kiyo, so Kokichi stares at the ghost instead to see if he can creep out the creepiest among them. 

It didn't work and Kokichi ended up learning far more about anthropology then he wanted. His day still didn't end, and soon he was roped into hanging out with Himiko and Tenko.

"Himiiiii…" he ragdolls over the floor, practically a liquid.

"...Nyeh?"

"..."

"Hey! It is not nice to waste Himiko's time like that-!"

"The floor is surprisingly soft, of course that could just be the dirt and plants but considering how much Kirumi has been cleaning, I don't think there's any here. Wanna feel it?"

Himiko and Kokichi just layed on the floor for a while, Tenko eventually joining. It was only 6 hours after breakfast, Kaede taking 1, Kirumi taking 2, Kiyo taking 3, and he was already exhausted.

Next: Angie. They painted together, Angie eventually getting him covered in paint. He was saved by an overenthusiastic Kaito. He helped him wash up in the public bathroom, but didn't quite get it all. 

Walking back into the main entryway, he looked around at all the ghosts floating around, looking a little bored, before looking at his companion. He turns back to the ghosts with a smile.

"HEEEEY GHOSTS!" There were multiple responses, waving, "Hey", an enthusiastic "Hello", but the best one was Kaito's.

"H-HEY! STOP JOKING ABOUT THAT!"

"Don't worry Kaito! I'll save you from the scwary ghosties!" He started running forward with his arms out, the others, somewhat used to his antics, grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. Not a lot, just enough so Kaito would notice. Miu holds his left arm with Kiibo and Kiyo, Gonta holds his right arm, making him slightly lopsided but close enough. It only adds to the effect.

Kaito visibly jumps as his footsteps disappear. He ran away soon after, Kokichi pouting because they didn't even get to mess with him that much. It wasn't a very calculated risk, the prank, but it was funny.

Soon, he found himself with Ryoma, who was just sitting with Maki. No words were exchanged until Kokichi arrived.

"WOOOOW! I've never seen a more depressing duo!"

"Do you want to die?"

"Hmp."

"YOU'RE SO MEAN, MAKI!"

"What-"

"AND TO THINK I ACTUALLY WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING!" He sobs, fake and loud, almost whiplash to the silence before. 

"...What did you want to give us, Ouma." Ryoma's voice was tired, not even surprised as Kokichi's tears dry up instantly.

"Well, I'm going to test something!" As he finished the sentence, he used a party popper right in their faces. He laughs as he runs away, chased by Maki. He feels no remorse as she catches him and he gets knocked out, waking up to worried faces and a grumpy, slightly pouting Maki.

From there, his day is less eventful as he's light headed and his poor legs are sore from trying to out-run an assassin.

\----------------------------

The next day starts off pretty normal, with a few key changes. Ryoma doesn't offer up himself as a sacrifice for one, Kokichi took immense joy from the look on Tsumugi's face when he left without saying anything, but Rantaro still told everyone not to do anything drastic.

There's also the fact that Kaito got drenched by a water bucket above the door, but that's not important. Was probably Monokuma's fault. Certainly helped break up the dread of the last day on the time limit. However, they all placed the blame on Kokichi for some reason and now he has to help him. Kokichi let's his shoulders untense more than usual in this locked room with the space dumbass.

"Hm? What's up Ouma?" Kaito still has his back turned away, but he's looking over his shoulder at Kokichi, a slightly confused look on his face. The liar glaces around, hoping that they were being so boring that there's no cameras in the room.

"Spaceman, do you know the meaning of deception?" Kaito makes a confused noise and turns more, his shoulders facing Kokichi with his head still turned. Kokichi, sitting on his bed, stares up at him.

"Well, yeah! It's lying-!" 

"Buzz, eh," Kokichi mimicked buzzer noises before continuing, "deception is more of a game. You limit the amount of information a person or people can get, and spread misinformation that they have no chance of proving wrong, because you aren't letting them. I'm not sure about you, but our information is very limited. We can't go to the third floor or any above it, if the labs hadn't opened yesterday then we wouldn't know what's in them, etcetera etcetera.

On the misinformation part, what's stopping Monokuma or his power ranger ripoff children from lying? Not only that, but based on what has been found, there's likely a traitor among us, who says they can't conspire with Monokuma and coincidentally 'find' things to mislead us?"

"I don't think there's a traitor, I believe in everyone here!"

Kokichi sighs, what a waste of a good infodump. He stands, starting towards the door. "That kind of mindset is going to get you killed. Though knowing your stubborn ass, you won't change your mind no matter what I do, so I'm leaving. Bye space cowboy."

He hears Kaito choke at the nickname as the door shuts behind him with a note of finality. _Wonder how hard he's going to try and change my mind. Knowing him… oh gosh._

Kokichi leaves the dorms, putting his arms behind his head as he stares into the distance.

_Today's the last day… if all goes as planned, then there won't be a death. A coma at worst, no injuries would be ideal but I'm not getting my hopes up. It's already around midday, the time limit expires at nighttime, avocadoman became guacamole after the video started playing, marking more than an hour left. It had been playing for a bit… so maybe 9:05 to 9:30 is the time to be wary? Rantaro has the map thing on his Mono shit so he's definitely going to check it out… maybe I should've mentioned the extra door thing to him too? He did hang out in the library a bit but then again, I don't think he would have told me about it. Maybe Gho-Taro kept suggesting it to him. I'll have to check in with that later. What are they even doing all the time? Maybe it's shitty writing because the author didn't originally plan for them and has no clue how to use them, especially when we already know all the secrets._

Kokichi keeps walking, swaying slightly as he thinks. He thinks a lot, mind constantly ticking away as he thinks of all the possibilities. So many possibilities that it's frankly exhausting.

He blinks up at the fake sky, unaware of those staring right back.

\----------------------------

"}#&1 ÷0 506 {3&;?"

"}#5 ¢&;1 506 ¢0;140/ 1#3{."

"}04~ 0; !1 1#3;."

"÷0;1 ÷!2&ππ0!;1."

A sigh rings out.

\----------------------------

Kokichi wanders into the man of the day himself, Rantaro Amami. Quite literally, as stated to by the pain on his hands from scraping the floor. He looks up, brushing him palms on his pants as he meets the green eyes in above him. Rantaro blinks before reaching down to help him up.

"Hey Kichi, what's up?" _...Kichi?_

"As good as ever when kidnapped by a murderous bear with the threat of death constantly looming!" Kokichi smiles a bit too wide as he takes the hand, but it's out of habit. "Have any plans for today?"

Rantaro stiffens finally after the question, but doesn't get time to respond. Tsumugi appears out of nowhere and trips over his leg, catching her foot around his ankle and dragging him down with her. Kokichi raises an eyebrow at the obviously faked accident.

"You good?" The question is directed towards Rantaro, but Tsumugi responds anyway.

"Oh! I'm plainly sorry-" "I'm good, Kichi." Kokichi feels triumphant from the annoyance on Tsumugi's face after being interrupted as Rantaro pushes himself up, but doesn't show it. He never knows who could be watching. Well… other than a few ghosts, like Ryoma who was following Rantaro, and Kirumi who was keeping an eye on Tsumugi. 

Speaking of Tsumugi, she's not done talking apparently, "Oh, Kokichi! I actually wanted to talk to you…"

"Well that's great, because I've never wanted to talk to you more in my life! It's always been a dream of mine to speak with some random girl I hardly know." Kokichi smiles, putting his finger to his lips. Tsumugi squints at him for a second before pulling a finger to her lips.

If Kokichi had any less control, his eyebrow would've at least twitched, but he showed no outer reaction to the cheap imitation of Shumai's signature thinking pose. Internally, he was imagining shoving that finger into an ant hill. Rantaro looks between the two of them, sensing the tension in the air. He might be kinda oblivious to most of it, but Kokichi knew what it was. He turns sharply, facing the boy and completely breaking Tsumugi's concentration.

"Heeeyyyy~! Ranta! Nishishi… sounds like Panta! Aaannnnyway, I'm bored of this conversation. Shirogane is just so incredibly plain that she can't entertain me!" Kokichi yawns, examining his poor, abused nails as he continues, "Do you want to hang out with me instead? Maybe if we gather everyone together, no one'll die! But that's a lie, tensions will rise so much that someone will." 

He's not even paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth, eventually losing track of the shit his spewing. It had something to do with Himiko being kicked by Gonta to break the cage at one point. Anytime Shirogane tried to speak up, he just raised his voice slightly until he was practically screaming at his company.

\----------------------------

Kokichi sits in the vents. It's not comfy, it's managing to be unreasonably hot and unbearably cold at the same time. He keeps his left eye closed, knowing it's slightly more sensitive. Honestly, he might not even need to be in there, as no one saw Kaede grab the shot put ball. There have been more than enough opportunities to grab it though, as nobody wants to just follow someone around all day, that would be boring for anyone.

Honestly, he doesn't know what time it is. Kaede told him that she and Shuichi had been in the classroom before the killing video started, but hadn't specified a time. He's not _that_ far in, he only has to be able to catch any possible heavy balls running down.

_Oh gosh, that being really loud was an important part of the case last time right? Uuurg, if she does throw it down it's going to hurt SO MUCH. I am not looking forward to this. Loud noises have always bothered me..._

_"Considering Kokichi's signs of abuse…"_

Kokichi flinches, tapping his head against the vent. 

_I'm pretty lucky that the vent is bigger in the classroom than the library… I can barely fit, even being my size. My… size._

_"Kokichi, can I inquire after your health? I don't see you eat much, and-"_

_"Don't be such a worry-wart! I'm fine!"_

_...Damn, I really hate being alone._

Kokichi almost perks up when the door opens, being hindered by the vent. It didn't make a loud noise, and they were talking. Even though Kokichi is pretty close, they don't seem to notice. As they talk, Kokichi feels like he really shouldn't be eavesdropping, especially as he finally, _finally_ learns The Reason Behind the Emo Hat™ and a bit about Kayayde. He almost shifts uncomfortably but worries about the noisy ass vent he's hiding in and settles for twirling his hair.

As he fidgets, he thinks back to the summaries of the first case, both of them. A bit after the video started, they saw… a group of undetermined amount led by Kaito go into the basement. Shuichi follows, making himself suspicious and leaving Kayayde alone. An amount of time later, he comes back and then…The receiver goes off a bit later. That's a lot of unknown information, but it's ok as long as he can prove Kayayde's innocence if this goes south. And maybe hopefully convict Shirogane, but she might not die.

The conversation from earlier basically confirmed that she's still the ringleader, even if there is still a margin of doubt. Shirogane was acting far too different and suspicious for it to be normal, plus the fact that she wanted to talk to him alone after he changed some parts of his personality. It's just… too obvious at-

Kokichi's thoughts are cut off by a very loud sound, echoing slightly in the vent he slaps his hands over his ears, certain that they won't hear any sounds his movement makes. With his eyes screwed shut, he whimpers to himself. 

After staying like that for some time, he feels a weight thump against his chest and opens his eyes to reveal the whole reason he did this, a shot put ball. Maneuvering his arms around, he manages to push the ball back out of the vent, then starts to shimmy out. If he's remembering correctly, they ran into people and had a conversation that made them take just a bit too long. So, he'll cut the conversation short.

He runs to the stairs, falls, flops in the middle section for a second before continuing and almost falling again. Down at the bottom, he sees Kaito and Tenko delaying the duo.

"Heeeeey! I think those two had something important to do if they ran down the stairs like that!"

"Why are you-?"

"Ah! Yeah, let's go!" With a detective's determination, they run in early. Inside, the door is just barely closing again, so they run over, revealing Rantaro. He's not nearly as close as he was before, like he hesitated for a second. The shot put hit him, but it's more of a glancing blow that hardly seems to have done more than knock him out.

_I made Shirogane rush…_ he couldn't help but think to himself in satisfaction, even as everyone freezes. Kokichi is the first one to move, even as the announcement rings out. He presses his fingers to Rantaro's wrist, feeling a surprisingly steady pulse. A pulse that shouldn't be there, especially with the announcement playing.

He ignores the screaming from people running in, attempting to pull Rantaro up despite his admittingly weak body.

"K-Kokichi… we shouldn't move the body."

"Wow, what a rude way to talk about Rantaro! He's still alive, feel." Kokichi lowers him back to the ground, giving up, and extends the arms towards Shuichi. It seems him basically using a body as a puppet is disturbing as people start tensing and taking steps back. Kaede comes forward though, hesitantly putting her fingers to his wrist, letting out a gasp after a few seconds.

"He is! He's still alive!"

"Awhh? Really! After all that he doesn't die? How disappointing! And I was _so prepared_ too!" Monokuma's voice is hostile, threatening. Of course, it often is, but this is different. Glancing around, Shirogane looks like she ate a few lemons. "Well… he's not exactly dead, but I'll make an exception for effort! Someone _tried_ to kill Rantaro Amami, so they're still getting the First Blood Perk! Anybody wanna speak up? Wanna claim your prize?"

Predictably, only silence follows.

"....Hmmmm? No one is speaking up-?"

_"Rise and shine, ursine-!"_

"Wahwahwahwahwahwah? No one wants the freebie to escape? Are you sure?" Kokichi slowly shifts his gaze to the Pink Ranger, eyes narrowed and tired. They _did_ pop up right in front of him, he's allowed to make faces.

"Huh? But…But if they don't take it, you'll have to go through the class trial and you'll die!"

"So gorey! I might puke just thinking about it!"

"HELL YEAH! Death and gore is my JAM!" Everyone collectively ignores Monokid.

"Well, since no one is speaking up… I guess that means you actually want a trial? Wow! You'd really rather kill everyone else in your escape and risk death then just leaving with no one else dying? How bold… Well, I'll respect their wishes, and have already prepared this! The monofile!"

"Wooooow! You just gotta brand everything don't you? You must be a hardcore loser!"

"Shuddup grapeman."

Kokichi does a fake over dramatic gasp and Monokuma passes out the files.

INVESTIGATION START!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,003 words.  
> Also, please help me with the nicknames, I suck at names


	6. INVESTIGATION START!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi already knows what happened, let's see if the other main character can puzzle it out! Also please be nice, I've never written a class trial before and don't know how to. 
> 
> Edit: I write the summaries before I write the actual chapter, writing the end notes after and during the chapter. This is after. I... Didn't expect. That. Ok.

Shuichi looks down at the file in his hand, then over at Ouma. Looking over the scene of the crime ( _an assult, not murder. Thankfully._ ), He should have known that Amami wasn't dead just by looking at him. There's no blood, as there would be with a shot put ball to the head. It's no wonder Ouma immediately went up to Amami, he's one of the smarter people there. It comes as a slight surprise when Ouma stands next to him and looks at his Monofile instead of his own, but a little memory searching reminds him of Ouma doing the same thing while the rules were announced.

"A basic summary… he got bonked a few minutes ago. So much information. I'm impressed."

Ouma's expression looked extremely unimpressed.

"Well… it tells us the time, and even if it didn't we could figure it out. With the exact time, alibis are always easier."

"Gasp! Is my beloved detective suggesting that we investigate together? Well… I suppose I can, but only if you join my organization!"

"Ouma…"

"Nishishi! Or not I guess, I'll just make you join later!" At that, Ouma tugged Shuichi off to go talk to everyone, Kaede joining.

\----------------------------

"I was eating spaghetti…"

"Gonta was watching bug movie!"

"I did go to the bathroom at one point…"

"I was in my room. Heh, rather flimsy alibi, I know."

"So you wanna know that badly, huh pervs? Bet you're getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it!" "Not at all!"

\----------------------------

"Ouma, I do have a question… I tried to ask earlier but we had to rush inside." Shuichi pulls his hat down, peaking towards Ouma, "why are you so… dirty?"

Ouma blinks up at him, taking a second to look at his dark grey clothing before turning back. He can also probably see the darkness on his nose, but hasn't noticed how dark and desaturated his usually purple hair is.

He smiles, mischievous and wide, "Well, I guess I'll save that for the trial! After all, it is kinda important. Don't want you figuring out all the secrets before we can even begin!"

\----------------------------

"A drone?"

"Ko." "...Ko?" "Ko!" "Ouma-?" "KO!"

"In the room… next door."

"I wouldn't tamper with the pictures!"

"Can Tenko be involved in the Ko group?" "...Nyeh…" "Nishishi! Sure~"

"Ah… I was also in my room."

"Ouma… please tell me your alibi?" "Later."

\----------------------------

Kokichi looks down at the pictures with vague interest, noting the differences. Now, he's in the first picture, of course. He's just barely behind Kaede, even before Shuichi. He really didn't hide that he knew about the plan, huh. Even his facial expression is incriminating, being determined and slightly panicked. Hm.

\----------------------------

Everyone stands in front of a fountain. The fountain actually, a very familiar one. Kokichi stares at it, wondering why the statue always breaks the pot, and where the new ones come from.

\----------------------------

Shuichi stands next to Ouma, finger to his lips, hat falling over his eyes as he thinks. Putting all the evidence together would be easier if he already knew everybody's alibi's, but Ouma was being particularly difficult about it. After waiting for a bit, Monokuma pops out.

"So, your grass boy is still out of commission, but Dr. Monokuma is here! With my little nurses!" Behind Monokuma, dressed in scrubs, pops up very depressed looking Monkubs in sexy nurse outfits, complete with fishnet stockings and fake boobs. Monophane has them over her coconuts, making her have double boobs.

There's silence.

"Jeez, can't you take a joke?" The Monokubs vanish again, Monokuma claps his hands, causing the statue to completely crush the pot. Shuichi jumps, getting pulled back by Gonta before any debris hits him.

They watch, the majority shocked as the statue sinks into the water and a walkway extends. Yumeno and Ouma both seem unfazed, one out of tiredness, the other… who knows. Ouma is the first to walk into the elevator, just like he was the first to investigate Amami, just like how he keeps figuring out secrets first but not telling anyone. 

Shuichi is silent as he walks inside

_But is he truly a friend? I want to believe he is but… he ran down the stairs, fell pretty loudly, rushed us inside… the murderer would've had more time had he not rushed us. Amami would probably be... dead._

_Amami would be dead if Kokichi wasn't there?_

_..._

\----------------------------

Kokichi walks into the trial room, one hand behind his back while chewing on his nail. Everyone starts walking around, but Kokichi circles the podiums, the shortest distance to his own. Kaede follows him, Shoe-ee-chi staying behind to look around. All the ghosts are sitting in front of their podiums.

"Ouma… you've realized, haven't you?" Kaede looks uncomfortable, sad. Makes sense.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Yay-chan."

"Ouma, now isn't the time."

"You're innocent, why do you care? Am I… being inTERROGATED?!" Kokichi bursts into tears. Both Kaede's give him an exasperated look. Much faster than usual, he stops them, painfully aware of all the people staring. Yay-chan sighs.

"Ouma, if you do know… let Saihara figure it out on his own. He might not accept it otherwise-"

"Non non, he will. It'll be fine Akamatsu-san." Kaedes blink at him before he stands at his podium, one of the few without a ghost in front of it.

"Wow! That sure took a while, huh? Wait, why are none of you at your podiums? Well.. except for him but he doesn't count." Kokichi flips Monokuma off. "Get on your podiums while I go over the rules." Kokichi tunes him out, idly watching as people start finding their podiums.

"So, it's starting, huh?"

"Nishishi! This trial room is so realistic! I should know, I've been to one six times." "Six times?!" _"Shit, those were so fuckin exhausting."_

"Oh, you have experience with trials, Ouma...?" Kokichi puts his hand behind his head, smiling at Ms. Anime-References. "Maybe, or it was just a lie!" 

"So, what are we supposed to do? Where do we even start?" Kaito scratches at his head as he talks, eyes closed.

"Gonta never done trial before…. Not sure where to begin…" _"If only Gonta could teach Gonta! Gonta would be good teacher, right?" "Yeah."_

Kokichi stops smiling, tapping on his cheek. "Well, this situation is rather far from normal, so as long as we throw the true blackened to the wolves, it should be fine!"

"Yes," Kirumi points her left hand up, managing to remind Kokichi of her execution despite the difference in her voice, "in this situation, we will each be a potential culprit, lawyer, prosecutor, and jury member. Let us proceed with that in mind, shall we?"

"Then I shall offer the first topic, if you'll allow me." "Don't get ahead of the rest of us, long hair means little dick y'know!" _"But Gonta also have long hair?" "Shhh, don't worry about it Gonta."_

"G-Guys, maybe we should calm down, how about we listen to him first before arguing?" Kaede speaks up, having fallen into trying to lead the group again.

"Atua says that it is absolutely vital to hear everyone's testimony. Nyahahaha, How divine!" "I'm a good listener cuz my ears are clean. Once, I cleaned them so hard they bled." _"...That's. not healthy. Did I not hear her say that last time? What the hell."_

Korekiyo looks down, absolutely judging everyone, "I'll begin the conversation, then. There's something… I found curious. Why, I wonder, didn't the culprit take advantage of the First Blood Perk?" _"..." "It's ok Kaede!"_

"Ah, I thought that was strange too! Even someone as plain as me would've taken it. Though, I'd never kill someone!" _"She's… so obvious when you know already."_

"...I bet they just wanted a class trial real bad." As Ryoma talks, his candy cigarette bobs.

"Then Monokuma's the culprit! Duh-doy! Cuz this whole class trial was his idea! Hoo-yeah! Easy-peasy! I'm a fuckin genius!" _"Did you just fucking sigh? It was a logical deduction!" "It really wasn't…"_

"Uh, wait. Is it even possible for Monokuma to be the culprit?" Spaceman tilts his head slightly.

"Nope nope nope! Of course not! I can't do things to you directly, otherwise one of you would already be dead!" _"Kichi, I think he's talking about you."_ Kokichi nods, seeming like he's agreeing with Monokuma when he's actually nodding to Rantaro. "That's right! Monokuma is prohibited from directly attacking a student. Doesn't mean he won't do it indirectly though." 

"Even if Monokuma can't, it's a different story for the person controlling him, right?" "...Hmmm?" "Is it possible that the mastermind controlling Monokuma attacked Amami?"

There's a few responses, all boiling down to things about the ringleader. Kokichi rolls his eyes at some of the questions from the group around him, too quiet for Yay-chan to really hear.

"Don't play dumb with me! Who's the person controlling you guys?!" There's a few more responses, all relatively useless and ignored by Kokichi. Monokuma starts laughing as Seesaw tries to get them all back on topic.

Kokichi only starts paying attention when the detective speaks up. "Then… we could start by determining the sequence of events?" Kokichi's fingers twitch at the questioning tone, "Let's take a closer look at the circumstances of Amami's assault. Which… would be easier if he was here…" Shumai grabs his hat and tugs it down, hiding his golden eyes from view.

"Gonta agrees with Saihara! After all, Saihara's Ultimate Detective!" _"Damn, we really relied on him a lot, didn't we…" "It be like that sometimes."_

"Then let us start by reviewing the incident." _"Ya-ha!"_

CLASS TRIAL START! …For real. Like… this is when the first tutorial happened. I guess a better one would be SCRUM DEBATE START! But then I'd have to do that for all the other minigames and that's… pretty useless. ...Why am I even doing this anyway? Dramatic effect I guess.

People start talking all together, hardly giving each other time to speak. Kokichi decides to ignore the dead sitting around for now. First, Tenko speaks up. "Amami's unconscious body was found just before the time limit, right!?"

"Well, duh, Aikido-Ko! You were there!"

"Kekeke, he was attacked in the library."

"Yep yep yep! Amami was alone in the library. The culprit could've snuck up on him!"

"What was he even doin' in the library anyway?" Ryoma puts a hand to his hat, slightly pulling it down.

"Well, he was opening that moving bookcase for some reason…" Rocketman is… scratching his head again. What is he? An anime boy? _Oh wait..._ "Cuz he knew about the hidden door! That means Amami was masterminding this whole thing!"

"No that's wrong! I don't think Amami is the mastermind! If you look at the pictures, you can see him holding his Monopad in his hands, but when we found him…" "... Amami's pockets and hands were empty of it, but the inside of his palm was clean, meaning it was shielded by something." Kaede nods to Shumai before speaking up again. "We saw the bookshelf closing as we came in, so someone most likely took it and escaped through there. He also didn't have the key card for the hidden door on him, which doesn't make sense if he was trying to get in, right?"

"Ah… yeah, you're right."

"What if the culprit simply took the card key from him?" "Well, then they would've shown up on the door photos, and yet we have no evidence of them entering or leaving. And… none of the pictures show Amami holding the card key. Just the Monopad. So, I don't really think he had the key at all."

"It's still pretty convenient that it was only a glancing blow, otherwise he would be dead. The game can't continue without the mastermind."

"That attitude is pretty reckless, who's to say that there aren't also people outside controlling this? Killing the ringleader is no guaranteed success."

"...Hmp."

"But if Amami not mastermind, how he know about hidden door?" "Well, me and Emo Boy had both stumbled upon it, it's not impossible that Avocadoman did too." "Ouma also knows about hidden door? Gonta didn't know…" "...Emo Boy?"

"That's certainly plausible… or maybe the mastermind told him about it."

"Whaaaat? Hoshi, why would the mastermind tell him that? Wouldn't that mess up the killing game? Wouldn't that be a threat? Huh? Huuuuh?"

"To lure Amami to the library… and kill him. They failed of course, but they still tried."

"So, does that mean the culprit and the mastermind are one in the same?"

"Hmm… that does seem plausible" Korekiyo nods at Kiibo, seemingly lost in thought, "it's very likely the mastermind knew about Akamatsu and Saihara's camera trap."

"They… knew about our trap this whole time-?"

"Wooow! I totally didn't expect that! It's not like we're dealing with someone able to make five giant murdering mechas... or anything. It's not like we're dealing with someone able to kidnap a whole group of teenagers and fuck with their memories or anything like that. Did you really think it would be so easy to catch them?" Kokichi has his right hand behind his head, examining his abused left nails. There's a short, slightly ashamed silence from the duo.

"...This case may have become the perfect crime, thanks to your hidden cameras. They knew about your trap and exploited it to commit their crime… how interesting..."

"So after the master-bitch lured Amami and bonked his ass… they used Akadumbass and Poo-hara's hidden cameras to arrange the perfect crime!"

"Did they really take advantage of our trap though?"

Kaede goes ignored.

"Is this really... the perfect crime? Are we in an unsolvable mystery?!"

"I guess we're at a dead end… Nyeh…" _"Don't give up Himiko!"_

"Guys c'mon! Ya can't give up now! We gotta believe we can solve this, then we will!"

"Yeah! Don't give up that easily! We already know the culprit is the mastermind. We gotta work together to find the mastermind! Then we can end this killing game!" Kokichi tilts his head at Kaito and Kaede. The extreme trust they have in others? Stupid. That trust is the reason they died. Kaede trusted Shuichi's deductions, then trusted him to reveal the truth. Kaito trusted his beliefs, Maki, and then, begrudgingly, in Kokichi. Even seeing their ghosts and talking to them, he still doesn't understand how you can trust so unconditionally with people you hardly know.

_Not like I'm much better._

"I know thinking one of us is actually a traitor is a horrible thought… but I'll do it! I'll end this killing game, even if I have to use this class trial!"

"...Akamatsu…"

"Nishishi… wow, you're so determined to face such a cold hard truth? Well then, here it comes! The coldest, hardest one!"

"Huh?"

"You already asked me earlier, but~! I might've lied again. I already know who did it. I know the attempted murderer."

"Huh? W-What! Already?" Monokuma…Sweats. Somehow. Gross.

"Hm? Why are you so surprised?"

"Cuz if he's right, that could make this the fastest class trial to date!" There's a small silence before everyone remembers that the Monokubs aren't there, having expected them to speak up.

"Kokichi, are you serious about knowing who the culprit is?"

"Well… before we get into _that_ mess of an explanation, we should do something pretty important-!"

"Does it have something to do with how dirty you are?"

Kokichi blanks, letting his arms drop and staring directly at Shumai. The boy quickly gets uncomfortable, but notices that Kokichi isn't looking at his eyes and then just turns confused. Mage-Ko on his right slowly reaches out and paps his cheek, a thin cloud of dark dust coating her arm. Aikido-Ko offers to help her get it off, but she's on Kokichi's other side so Himiko just starts brushing it off with Piano's help.

"Alibis. It's alibis, Shumai. The thing we spent most of the investigation collecting. Alibis." 

His face flares red with embarrassment, "A-Ah, yeah. Those."

"Well… I guess I shall go first. I was in the dining hall, dining on what I thought would be my last supper. Iruma, Tojo, and Shirogane were also in there, though Shirogane briefly left for the bathroom around the time the video started."

"Ah, so you brought that up after all… It's true, I went to the restroom closest to the dining hall. I don't think it was long enough for me to go to the basement, attack Amami, and come back though. Just like-"

"Wow… you were about to make another reference we don't get! Heh, you must be a hardcore loser." Kokichi smiles at Shirogane. Yeah, he said that same thing to her last time, yeah he was trying to be less mean, but she's just asking for it. _"Kokichi what the fuck."_

"...Ah, sorry. My hobbies sometimes slip into my speech. It's a plain problem."

"Don't be such a dick, Gremlin!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAHH, I'M BEING BULLIED! YOU'RE SO MEEEAAAANNN!!

"Cool your jets, kid." _"I stand by what I said before, Kokichi." "Yeah, Ryoma's right. That was… a little extra."_

"Guys, this really isn't the time to be fighting. Ouma, please stop antagonizing people."

"Huuuh? Ok… fine. But only because you're my favorite detective." Kokichi smiles at Shoe-itchy, watching as his face instantly goes red. _He's so easy to embarrass, it's fun._

"Anyway, we should keep looking at the alibis. I was with Saihara, obviously."

"But were you together the whole time?"

"W-Well… no. At some point Saihara left, following Momata, Gokuhara, Chabashira, Harukawa, Amami… Yanaga?" Kaede puts a hand to her head, trying to remember who it was, while she counts on her fingers. "Yeah, seven people in total."

"Nyahahaha! But of course!" "Why are you laughing?! That includes you too!"

"What were they doin' that he felt the need to follow them like some stalker!?"

"We were going to the basement to come up with a battle plan against Monokuma, but I guess we didn't need it. I had rounded everyone up, but ran into Amami on the way and decided to bring him too!" Kaito smiles proudly, "He was already walking towards the basement, so I didn't think it would be a problem."

"Well, why don't we torture the truth out of them? It would be the quickest method."

"W-Wait, please! No torture! My tolerance for pain is actually really, really low! I'll tell you everything! Anything! Just please don't hurt me!" Tenko's sweating. Less gross than Monokuma.

"Please just tell us what happened." _"Are they just… ignoring that Kokichi said he knows the culprit? That seems kinda important. I would have focused on that." "Evidently not."_

"Wait, are you accusing us?!"

"Duh, you are confirmed in the basement. You're suspicious."

"W-Wa-Wait! It wasn't me! I promise!" "Nyahahaha! I have an alibi, it wasn't me!" "...Murder… sounds so exhausting." "Well, the guy who invited us all is most suspicious, right?" "It's not me! I wouldn't!" "Seriously… I have an alibi!"

With all the voices, Kaede's small "Oh jeez!" is hard to notice, but it's there. Shuichi quickly joins them, explaining how they can work with this.

"I'll prove my innocence to you guys!"

"I really really have an alibi~!"

"I'm not even a little bit suspicious…"

"I would never punch a foe from behind!"

"Atua can back me up when I say I didn't kill Amami."

"What about the guy who wanted us all in the basement…?"

"A true Aikido Master would never do something so dishonorable!"

"Atua? Who that person?"

"What!? Are you talking about me!?"

"Punching is permitted in aikido?

"Atua is not a person. Atua is god."

"We were having a strategy meeting together, remember!?"

"Yes! Neo-Aikido even uses wooden swords!"

"Not person… robot? Like Kiibo?"

"Amami's the only one who left in the middle of it…"

"No, that's wrong!" Angie pouts at Kaede's interruption, about to explain her god to Gonta, while Maki starts muttering under her breath at Tenko. Kokichi lets out a huff of breath, grateful for the sudden silence. "Wait a minute Momota, wasn't there someone else who disappeared other than Amami?"

"That idiot already forgot. Gokuhara also left during the strategy meeting."

"Yeah, he locked himself up in the A/V Room and- Hey wait a sec! Idiot!?"

Hoshi steps in before Kaito can continue, eventually leading to Gonta trying to defend himself once he realizes that he's being suspected. Of course, everyone has to work together to teach him how to do that, but Kokichi just stays quiet, slightly tuning out the whole thing. Despite everything… it does still kinda hurt to look at Gonta.

"See? Gonta tell you he not culprit!"

"No, we cannot confirm that just yet."

"...Eh?" Kokichi blinks back to life, realizing he hadn't even been thinking while zoning out, to find Kirumi making a pointless conversation even longer.

"My apologies, Gokuhara. I do not mean to put you on the spot like this, but… because I promised to do my best, I will fulfill that responsibility."

"S-So you think Gonta could still be the culprit?"

"There is the possibility that Gokuhara attacked Amami from the A/V Room."

Ryoma finally opens his closed eyes after like… a few minutes. "From the A/V Room? How…?"

"Oh-ho! I don't know that was a possibility."

"Not only could he have attacked Amami from the A/V Room, but also… he would not appear in any of the pictures from the cameras placed in the library."

"If you think you know a way, can you come out and say it already so we can shut it down? I'm tired, and looking at Shirogane's face isn't helping." It's only when Shumai looks at Kokichi weirdly does he realize, this is the first time he's said her name. The last time he said it, he said her first name, Tsumugi. Though that might just be because he's almost bullying her.

"Well, if you look at the map, you can see one thing clearly. The door in the A/V Room is directly across from the back door to the library. Gokuhara is quite strong, it would be easy for him to throw a shot put ball between the two rooms."

"Eerr, wrong. Bzzzt. The library door was open when we ran in, the shot put would've just slammed against it. Plus, Gonta's arm is thicker and muscleier than all of ours, wouldn't have fit." _"What's with you and the buzzer sounds…"_

"Ah, I… wasn't aware that the hidden door was open. I apologise for accusing you, Gokuhara." "Mooooommyyyy! Shumai said it earlier! When we were trying to prove that Rantaro isn't the culprit!" "I am… still not your mother." _"Living me shall accept it soon, I am certain. There's no escaping the… "Mom Friend" fate."_

_I wonder how much shorter the trial will be with all the things I'm cutting out… I didn't point fingers at Miu, I stopped the Gonta shit… the trials were all around two hours, right?_

"Gonta has no hard feelings, Gonta understands that we must find culprit."

"Well said! For a degenerate male, you're actually pretty reasonable!"

"Ugh, I hate the sentimental crap." Mage-Ko tilts her head at Monokuma, "Why's that? It's nice when everyone gets along like this."

"Are you stupid or something? I can't stand people having a good time-!"

"And I can't stand murder bears who interrupt a trial that's only happening because they got bored, so shut it up and wait like the stuffed animal you are."

"I'm not a stuffed animal! We've gone over this already!"

"...It's good that Gonta's in the clear, but don't break out the confetti just yet… we're out of suspects now. On top of that, we still don't even know how Amami was attacked.

"So we only know what the weapon is? How are we supposed to find the mastermind with that?"

"We know the weapon is the shot put ball. But where did the culprit get it?" "I think it was from the warehouse. I saw track and field equipment there." "Then anyone would have been able to obtain it. We need more information." "..."

"What's wrong Shuichi?" "Hm? A-Ah, it's nothing…" Shuichi quickly shakes his head. "We might as well finish the alibis… Ouma, please explain yours?" He has a pleading tilt at the end of his statement, makes sense with how long he's been asking for it.

"Nishishi! Well, my beloved detective, I was stopping a murder!"

There's a small silence, before-

"That's not something to fucking joke about!" "Ouma, this isn't a laughing matter…" "Ouma! That's a shitty lie and you know it!" "That's a lie…Right Ouma? Right?!" "Hmp. Useless." "Of course _Ouma_ didn't bring anything of use to the table. Just more stupid lies."

"Who said I was lying?" Kokichi keeps his tone flat, head tilted with his eyes slightly too wide. Only for a second before he brings an arm up to play with his hair, closing his eyes. "I was planning. My whole plan revolved around fixing up the loose ends with your plan. Of course, we barely even have anything explained yet, so I guess I'll move it along."

Kokichi puts his hands on his podium, slightly lifting himself up so he can kick his legs. "Tokyo MiuMiu? Can… Cwan you pwease gwive wittle owld Shumai thwe pwictwue? Fwom da dwone?" Miu physically recoils at his tone, mouth twisting in disgust. Similar reactions are found from other people, but Kokichi ignores it. Miu practically throws the picture at Shuichi, despite being right next to him.

"Your smart detective, I think you can get it."

A few seconds of Shuichi staring at the picture later…

"Ah, you mean the bookshelf? The way the books are arranged…" Shuichi cuts himself off. Right, he was all sad and silent cuz his only friend was being blamed.

"Yep! If my memory serves, Kaede was the one who organized them, and also pushed the vent gate inside. Theoretically, if you pushed a shot put ball into the vent in the classroom you were in, it would pop out there, ride along the books, and bonk Ranta. However…" he smiles again, wide, "if there happens to be an obstacle _inside_ the vent… well, nishishi, I don't think it's that hard to figure out."

"Are you implying that Akamatsu tried to kill Amami!?"

"Cool your jets, Rocky. I just explained why she couldn't of."

"...Ouma…Were you hiding in the vent?" Kokichi smiles at Piano's question, playing with his hair again.

"Lemme tell you, it was super loud in there. And cramped but I'm used to that. My poor sensitive ears were _not_ prepared for the murder video. It was so loud that I didn't even notice the shot put until it thumped against my chest!"

"Akamatsu…Is this true? Did you try to kill Amami?"

"...No, I didn't try to kill Amami… I tried to kill the mastermind." There were a few sighs of relief, but then she continued and they all turned into gasps. "I thought just like Harukawa did, without the mastermind the game has to end. So I made a plan." She starts showing off all the pictures, stating what Kokichi already knew. 

"But… apparently my plan failed. Ouma… please tell me you were telling the truth? Please tell me I didn't actually attack Rantaro for no reason…"

Kokichi just sighs. "You made your plan so obvious. Neither of you can lie for shit, you did everything out in open spaces, and barely even bothered to check your surroundings. Let's bring back something I said in the library. 'Y'know, this is a really bad lair. All good mastermind lairs have multiple entrances, and this one was so obvious. It's almost like we were meant to find it. We could completely stop all entrance to this door just by placing three guards at it,' quoted exactly." Kokichi had spent a while running through that whole conversation in his head, he has most of what he said memorized at this point.

"What does this have to do with Akamatsu!?"

"Patience."

"...Where would you have placed another entrance to the lair?" 

Kokichi smiles, "Why, somewhere not many people go! From there it's just the process of elimination. I've explored every place available, even some unavailable," he winks, ignoring Monokuma's shout, "and haven't found another door. So, that means that there either isn't one, or it's somewhere a degenerate like me would never want to go!" 

Kokichi bends forward, looking up at Tenko, who speaks up. "You would go anywhere! You said so yourself!"

"Wooow Tenko, I thought with how many times you decided to throw me across the room that you'd have a better read on my personality. Aaaaannnnnnyyyyway, through the process of elimination, it's quite easy. The bathrooms. Social rules dictate that we aren't to go into the other bathroom under most circumstances. A murderer or a tornado might be exempt though!"

"By placing it in the bathrooms, you've eliminated half the people here from finding it…"

"Yeah yeah, what's this have to do with the fucking trial and Akamatsu!? You two are so busy sucking each other that you haven't bothered to explain for the rest of these dumbasses! I understand perfectly, of course."

"Well, we can't exactly confirm that I stopped the shot put, unless Monokuma feels like showing a video, and we can't confirm that there actually is another door in the bathroom, but if we assume that there is… someone here suddenly gets way more suspicious, riiight?"

"...Huh? Oh, I can do something? Why would I do that?"

"You promised a fair trial, but evidence was hidden from us. That doesn't sound very fair, might as well even it out!"

"...Ok! One video coming up!" His voice is forced, annoyed. Kokichi fears for his safety.

The TVs come down, Kokichi suppressing a flinch, brain flashing back to the rude things said about them. On them, it shows Shuichi rushing out of the room first. Then Kaede drops the broom in her hands, takes off her bag, and tosses the metal ball down the vent before chasing after him. A few seconds later, the ball comes right back, rolling across the floor. Also exiting, a very dirty Kokichi with his hands clamped over his ears. He quickly runs after the duo.

"..."

"Akamatsu…"

"...I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing? We just confirmed that it wasn't you."

"Hold on a sec! If it isn't Bakamatsu, who was it?"

"Hmmm… Atua says that the answer lies in Ouma's riddles! If we think back on what he has said previously, perhaps we will discover a clue!"

"Wait, Ouma, you were being fucking serious when you said you knew the culprit!?"

"Who knows." "I'll fucking drop kick you." "MOMMY I'M BEING BULLIED!" "...Iruma, just leave Ouma alone. He is just… difficult." _"Hm, that was quite faster than previously anticipated." "Nice."_

Kokichi looks directly at Kirumi, tears in his eyes just waiting to be released. She ignores him. Rude. She called him difficult and then ignored him. Absolute blasphemy.

"Well, Ouma didn't exactly hide it in a riddle. He explicitly stated that he thought a second entrance would be in the bathrooms. One of the few alibis we've already talked about is Shirogane, going to the bathroom in the one closest to the dining hall. If you look at the maps, the hidden room would be basically right below the bathrooms."

There's shock, accusations, and Shirogane defending herself in basically the same way she had last time. Just with so much less Enoshima. None actually. _Guess it's because they don't actually know who she is… and I shouldn't either. She probably thinks she has a trump card over me. Well, two players are required for chess, but what if I cheat just a little. No one said anything about a 2 vs 1, let alone a truce._

Kokichi sighs. "Give it _up_ already Shirogane. You're just digging yourself deeper. Let's just go back to the dorms already, I'm tired."

"Woah woah woah WOAH! We can't just leave! We still need to do the most important part of a class trial, VOTING TIME!" Shirogane looks at Monokuma, slightly panicked, but there's something else in her expression. Resign.

Kokichi reaches out and votes for Shirogane Tsumugi, locking eyes with Rocky. He glances over at Shirogane, then back to Kaito with a determined expression. All the ghosts seem to have had a similar idea, starting to gather around Shirogane.

Monokuma does his whole blackened vs spotless schtick, Kokichi rolling his eyes, and Shirogane is the only person voted for. Instead of jumping to questions, Kokichi walks off to stand between Monokuma and Tsumugi. Not many people notice.

"Now, for the blood chilling-!" "HOLD IT!"

Now, now people are noticing.

"In the rules, it states that one is only a blackened if they murder. Also in the rules, it states that only the blackened will get executed. However, there was no murder. No murder means no blackened. And you can't say that we therefore voted incorrectly, as you only asked us to vote for "whodunnit" and not the blackened. Thus, Tsumu-chan can not be executed.

There's a silence, quickly filled with agreement from behind Kokichi. Then with growls and muttered threats from Monokuma. 

"W-What? Why are you… I'm. I'm the mastermind… you're the one who exposed me… why… why are you fighting for me to live?" Kokichi says nothing, just briefly turns and smiles. Honestly, he's so tired. Tired of seeing death, of seeing people's faces as people they cared about die right in front of them, of wishing he could've done something.

She chuckles under he breath. "Guess that 'No Killing' policy is still there, huh." She mutters it, like she didn't want him to hear it. He does. Kokichi has never really been one for forgiveness… but considering Shumai's memory theory… he can make an exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5,640 words!?!? HOLY SHIT!  
> Kokichi called Kiibo a roomba during the trial… I didn't even know… it was just kinda funny to me, but I've been outsmarted by a team of horny adults…
> 
> Also, sidenote. I hate writing dialogue? I'm not sure if you noticed, but I don't use words like said or asked. I just take the character that talked and describe what they're doing, cuz said/asked/commanded/etc etc is just weird for me to type. Sounds off. So basically… This chapter is probably kind of hard to read as I don't really specify who's talking. Sorry? Have fun guesstimating I guess. Hope the ghost shenanigans made up for it.


	7. Kinda Filler?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this one out faster than the previous, and decided to make it off this snippet I've had for months, waiting to be used. I bet y'all didn't think you'd see my code again, did you. Also, even if I don't reply, I read all of your comments. If I don't respond, that's usually just me not knowing how. Some of yall are so nice, my cheeks started hurting from smiling so much. Thank you.

After they all banded together to save Tsumugi's ass, Kokichi was basically a dead weight. That had been too much in one day, and his left eye hurt, and his ears are still ringing, and he's covered in dirt. On the elevator, he apparently didn't hide it well enough, and ended up sleeping standing up, like he had after his concussion. Apparently Kaito had picked him up by the armpits and carried him back, using Tenko's help to get him inside.

Of course, they didn't know what to do with him, so they just dumped him on the floor. At least they didn't get his bed dirty, but it woke him up enough to actually get ready for bed. Showered and everything.

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi wakes up at an odd angle, probably having fallen asleep while hiding in his closet again. It's convenient enough, he supposes, as he changes into his school uniform without alerting #!2 °&{!/5 that he's awake. _

_ Should he attempt to get breakfast? Nah, waste of time. On careful steps, he edges to his window and opens it, slowly getting out and touching grass on the other side. This used to be scary, with his small build, but he's done it so many times that he's practically unfazed. He starts walking to school as his house wakes up behind him. _

_ If he's fast, he'll get 2#0^3÷ &406;÷ in the crowd, his classmates using his short stature as an excuse to give him another black eye. If he's slow, he'll get caught by the delinquents and get 83&1 6π, then late for class. His only friend, 2#6!¢#!, has been sick lately so he's completely on his own. _

_ Being 83&1 6π and late is worse than being 4069#3÷ &406;÷ and on time. Kokichi's π&43;12 wouldn't enjoy another call to his house. His teachers wouldn't enjoy having to call his house. It's all fine though, it's just Kokichi's normal. It may not be normal for others, but he's never known anything else. _

_ He just wishes he could prove to them that he #&2 }041#. _

\----------------------------

Shuichi's eyes flutter open. It's clearly still night time, but he feels like he's missing something. Something is happening and he needs to be there. 

Of course, his first instinct is to get help, but who to ask? Everyone's asleep and it might be his anxiety screaming at him after the trial. Sadly, due to the buzzing in his nerves, he's now wide awake and won't be able to sleep. 

Shuichi sighs, sitting up so the blanket pools around his hips. Deciding that he might as well wander if he's awake, he steps outside.

The first thing he notices is the soft glow coming from Ouma's room, like he left the light on. 

_ "Go." _

There could be a number of reasons for this, he likes his room to be bright while he sleeps, he fell asleep and forgot to turn it off, etc, but Shuichi feels the need to check on him.

"This is stupid, it's just my anxiety getting to me. Ouma is fine. He's perfectly ok." He whispers this to himself as he walks toward the room. When he arrives, he hesitates.

_ "Don't stop." _

Shaking aside his nerves, the boy knocks on the door, finding it opened. Unknown to him, there's a line of ghosts from Ouma to the door so they could unlock it. He carefully peaks inside, finding a slight mess. There's papers scattered on the floor and a seemingly disorganized whiteboard. The bed is completely unmade, Ouma himself twitching in his sleep as he gets drenched with sweat, breaths heavy yet sporadic. He speed walks to his side, being the only one in the room who can do it without looking suspicious, careful not to step on any papers.

_ "Help him." _

Shuichi looks him up and down, eyes worried. He can't tell how Ouma will react, but he needs to wake up.

"...Ouma?"

\----------------------------

_ …Is that… you? The voice sounds off... Hasn't he been sick? No… he… who? What… where is he? Where is everyone? What's… going on again? _

_ Is it even real? _

\----------------------------

Shuichi perks up when he starts stirring, not wanting to touch the small teen in fear of him jumping to conclusions and lashing out. The first thing the boy does is let out a shuddering breath, seemingly talking in his sleep but Shuichi can't make it out. Based on everything, the boy still isn't quite conscious.

"Ouma?"

More stirring. Is… calling his name not enough? Cautiously, he reaches out, resting his hand on his cheek. The second he does, Ouma's eyes snap open, springing upright into sitting. He catches Shuichi's eyes and grabs his hand that had been awkwardly hovering in the air after Ouma woke. It… kinda hurt with how hard he's squeezing it, eyes closed as he tried to take deep breaths. Shuichi looks to the side, kinda wishing he brought his hat with how intensely Ouma had been staring into his eyes.

After a few seconds, the grip loosens, a small apology coming from the small boy in front of him. Shuichi hesitates a moment before sitting beside him, awkwardly opening his arms. There's a few seconds where nothing happens, making him start slowly lowering his arms, before suddenly he is lying on his back with a Ouma pressed against his chest. The small boy's hands are tangled in his shirt, though he's still trying to control his breathing. Shuichi, absolutely not sure what he's supposed to do in this situation, hesitantly wraps his arms around him. 

He lets out a deep breath at the same time as Ouma, starting to breathe along to help.

\----------------------------

Kokichi opens his eyes, they're slightly stuck together, possibly from tears. It takes him a second to realize, but… he fell asleep. He fell asleep while laying on Shuichi. Shuichi, a poor social awkward boy who would absolutely panic if someone fell asleep on him. Fuck. Kokichi slowly looks up, expecting panicked golden eyes but instead… he finds a completely relaxed and asleep face.  _ Oh. _

_ Hm. _

_ Oh wait fuck I can't move. My legs are tangled in the sheets, and Shumai's arms are like a dead weight on my back. Didn't he once say he's a heavy sleeper? Oh please let that be true, I'll even pray to Angie's god, don't let him wake up. Hhhhhhhhhhhh- _

While Kokichi starts panicking, there's a knock on the door. He smiles, extremely strained, eyes wide. The situation just got so much more stressful, let's hope it's not Miu. The doorbell rings a second after, ringing out far too loud in the near-silent room. 

Shuichi starts stirring. Fuck. This situation is probably stressing him out way more than it should. Calm down. Calm down.

Kokichi rears upwords, Shuichi's arms flopping from gravity, waking the startled boy up the rest of the way, and leans sideways to fall off the bed. He quickly stands, drags Shuichi off the bed so he'll be hidden by the wall, he _cannot_ handle their comments after his nightmare, and opens the door, rubbing his left eye.

"Oh! Ouma, it's been a few minutes and you hadn't shown up for the breakfast meeting… we got a little worried. Saihara also wasn't there…" Kaede stands there, slightly nervous looking. Behind her, most of the ghosts float with smug, proud, or amused expressions.

He ignores them. 

"...Just gimme a minute to get ready…" Kokichi yawns, it's sorta fake considering his previous adrenaline rush, but he is still tired. He looks up at her, left eye hidden by his hair. She smiles, then turns away. Kokichi closes the door, leaning against it in relief. He didn't expect Kaede, but she feels too much guilt, and if anyone figures out about the impromptu sleepover featuring accidental cuddles, he might just die.

"Ouma…?" Shumai's voice is slightly slurred from his sleepiness.

"...What's up?" As Kokichi speaks, Shuichi appears from around the corner, hair messy but he's standing. "Well… other than the ceiling."

"...You have heterochromia? I noticed it last night but… I thought it was a trick of the light." If he wasn't so tired, maybe Shuichi wouldn't have even asked. Kokichi ducks his head, successfully hiding his left, yellow eye from his tall company. Doesn't do much considering he already saw it though.

"..."

"Ah, it's probably a sensitive subject! I'm sorry for asking I-" "It's fine, but only because you're my second favorite detective!" 

_ Is it really fine? Shumai… he…  _

_ "...signs of abuse…" _

_... _

"A-Are you sure? ...Second?" "It's fine. It is, and that's not a lie, ya worry-wart." Kokichi raises his head, smiling wide with his eyes open. "I guess I still had my contact in when I got kidnapped, pretty lucky huh!" "Uh…Yeah."

"Anyway, we should probably go to the dining hall before they get convinced it's my fault and bust my door down." Kokichi starts walking towards the bathroom, where his contact container is, but is stopped by a hand lightly brushing his shoulder. He turns to find a slightly embarrassed… and hatless Shuichi. Oh. Kokichi sighs, turning around to face Shuichi.

"Give me one good reason why I should stop wearing it."

"...The people here are more likely to encourage you... and threaten to beat up whoever made you start wearing a contact, then make fun of you for your eye colors."

_...Fuck, he's right. _

Kokichi sighs again, loudly and dramatically, "FIIINE. You can only get away with this because you're actually my favorite detective."

Kokichi walks out of the door, leaving a flustered Shuichi behind for a few seconds before he catches up.

_ "That was pretty honest there, Kichi." _ He is ignoring the ghosts.  _ "Yep yep! Kokichi is always more honest around Shuichi! Atua says so!"  _ Kokichi wants to stab them.

_ "Heh, I guess I still got a ways to go, I hadn't noticed." "It's ok Ryoma! Gonta didn't realize either." _ Why did this happen to him, what did he do in a past life. Is this karma? It's more of a cruel and unusual punishment, meaning this shouldn't be allowed and they will be… fined for this. Or a death sentence, how would that work for a dead person. 

"Ouma? You look… kinda red. Is not having your contact making you uncomfortable? We can go back so you can put it on if you really want to…" Shuichi reaches up, hand pausing for a second before it starts carding through his hair.

"Nah, the ghosts are just teasing me!" "Well… tell them to stop." The reaction was…so little. Yet Kokichi found himself laughing. Based on the noises behind him, so did some of the others. His eyes widen for a second as a hand clasps his shoulder, and he looks off to the side just in time to see Kaito looking at him curiously while his hand hovers over Shuichi's head.

_ This is… a lot of secrets for just a few hours. Technically, he already knows though. Hm. _ Kokichi nods.

Shuichi jumps as a hand ruffles his hair, slightly pouting as he tries to fix it. Kirumi puts a hand on Kaito's arm, using her other one to help Shuichi fix it. Shuichi seems… oddly ok with this, watching as his hair is moved around by invisible fingers.

"...How many are there?"

"Eleven! They're all  _ really _ fond of everyone here. They're the reason I was even able to delay Tsumugi so much that she had to rush!" Kokichi looks at the ground despite his joking tone. None of them had known about his eyes, and yet… maybe it'll be ok. Maybe.

"I'm guessing that they've been helping you scare Momota?" Shuichi has a small smile on his face. They're almost at the dining hall, it's not really that far of a walk. _ "You've been what?" "Gonta sorry!" _

"Yep! He has a crippling fear of the supernatural. It's funny that he tries to hide it, considering it's labeled as one of his dislikes in the Monopad!" Kokichi laughs, looking directly at Shuichi for the first time since they left his room. He seems… far too relaxed. He wasn't nearly so relaxed after the trial last loop, but also two people had just died and he was punched in the face. Maybe it's understandable.

They finally reach the door, Shuichi hesitates for a moment, brushing his fingers through his newly fixed hair again. Tenko pats her hand on the poor ex-ghost's face, without warning which leads to a rather interesting expression for Shuichi, and kicks the door open. There's no way that wasn't caught on camera, but Kokichi rolls with it anyway.

"WHAT'S UP FUCKERS!?" He smiles far too wide, eyes practically closed. At least five different, living people respond with "what are you doing on my phone" which really says a lot about their lives. Of course, the only acceptable response after that is, "FUCK YOU, THAT'S WHY!" 

There's a few laughs from around the table, and some from behind Kokichi, before Spaceman tilts his head at the two of them.

"Is it just me or do they look different?"

"Duh, you degenerate male! Saihara is missing his hat!" Aikido-Ko rolls her eyes at him. "No, not just that! Something about Ouma is different too!"

"Kekeke… are you truly so unobservant? What a dilemma for you." "I'm not unobservant! I know three languages!" Rocky slams his hand on the table in response to Seesaw.

Kokichi watches all of this with wide eyes. They… truly don't care. The part that's most confusing though, Yay-chan is happily sitting next to a nervous Tsumugi, arm slung over her shoulder in a way that seems more forceful than friendly.  _ She probably dragged her out... _

He gets startled out of his thoughts by Shumai walking inside. All the living are inside, some ghosts are breaking off, some weren't there at all. Kaede and Rantaro are both probably watching over the unconscious one. And… Kokichi never really cared before, but the ghosts are wearing normal school outfits. Strange, considering they were wearing their same clothing back last loop. Why did he never register it before? They… don't even look like ultimates. Kokichi glances over at Kaito, confirming what he just noticed. The ghosts are wearing the clothes that they filmed the audition videos in, the old them.

Hm.

Oh fuck he started zoning out again. When did he sit down? Who is he by? Apparently, he sat down near Ms. Stabby Stabby and Painter. Oh wait, should he actually do the nicknames to the ghosts? That would make more sense wouldn't it? Wow, he's just a blunder today, huh. 

Blinking back to life, he finds Monokubs there, plopping the gifts on the table. The mood is slightly more tense, Tsumugi seeming slightly more uncomfortable, but leaning into Kaede like she can protect her.

Hm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,467 words  
> Published on the same day as the last chapter, but also one of the shortest and most of it was pre-written. Also, Kokichi wondering if he should call the ghost nicknames instead of the living is actually me just writing. I realized in the middle of last chapter that it makes very little sense, but by then it was already too late so I'm phoning it in here.


	8. Hm Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all didn't get spoiled by the sudden onslaught of chapters. From 5 to 7! Anyway

"U-Um, wait! Before we leave, Gonta found thing. "Horse a" on ground. Was looking for bug when saw it."

"Oh," Shuichi looks up from what he was carrying, which is all of the artifacts as everyone else is too lazy to look for the places they go, "could you take us there? I can… go look for the places these go after."

"Why were you looking for a fukin bug? Didn't we already establish that there's none here cocksucker!?" Miu leans forward, one hand on her hip in annoyance.

"Gonta saw it! Gonta has 20/.625 eyesight, thinks saw tiny bug." Gonta, followed by… ghost version. Bug Boy. Gonta is being followed by Bug Boy. Yes. They leave the dining hall, letting all who want to follow do so. Kokichi follows him so as to not look suspicious on how he knows things, despite having  _ just  _ had an open conversation about ghosts, with proof they exist thanks to Mommy and Spacy. 

...It's actually kind of hard to remember that the nicknames belong to the ghost now. Oh well, Kokichi is nothing if not stubborn and slightly annoying.  _ And a bit selfish. And- we'll be here all day if I list all the flaws. _

Kokichi is absolutely not paying attention as they talk, mostly staring at the message.

Horse a.

This world is mine -Kokichi Ouma.

The message is there every time he blinks, so he doesn't. His eyes sting by the time a hand is waved in front of his face. Kaede, Tsumugi and surprisingly Maki in tow. Maki looks like she'd rather not be here, Tsumugi still reluctant but getting used to being dragged around like a mom at a candy store. Kaede smiles at him once she has his attention.

"Ouma, you wanna hang out?"

Kokichi blinks at the words, finding them completely unfamiliar. There's probably things to overthink about that, but he's a bit busy for that. Kaede grabs his last arm, string excitedly into that eye. Tsumugi brightens at the chance to do something, quickly grabbing his other arm and following Kaede, meanwhile neither Maki nor any nearby ghosts even try to help him.

Betrayal. Absolute blasphemy from all of them. Blasphemy is a fun word to say. Kokichi finds himself muttering it under his breath as he's dragged around concrete, not even trying to stand. Of course, only for a little as Maki eventually picks his legs up, "primarily to make it easier for you to be carried" and no other reason. Totally. His slightly scratched knees beg to differ, but still. They don't matter.

He gets carried into Kaede's room, an unconscious Rantaro laying on the bed. They probably felt like intruders trying to go in his room, so they dumped him in here. Maki is the first to question it.

"So… why are we here?" "Um. Bonding?" "I'm leaving."

"Nonononono! Harukawa, you wanted to talk to Ouma, and Shirogane expressed confusion over him, and all three of us decided to hang out, so I decided that we're kidnapping him too!" Kaede smiles, proud of herself. Tsumugi blinks at her wording while Maki just raises an eyebrow. Kokichi stays lying on the floor where he was deposited, seems to be happening a lot actually. 

"Well… I guess it fits, but I'm pretty sure that Harukawa already had her conversation with Ouma."

"H-Huh? Really?"

"Yep! Maki grabbed me like a cat and hauled me to her room to interrogate me about my tragic backstory!" Kokichi smiles wide, even as Maki sits on the ground to slap her hand over his face. In fact, he starts giggling.

"There is one that confused me. I would've thought that Tsumugi would be an outcast, considering she's the mastermind." Maki keeps her hand on Kokichi as she speaks, until she yanks it away with a disgusted sound. Kokichi smiles triumphantly, tongue sticking out of his mouth. It seems… they don't even care about his heterochromia. Huh. His eye is certainly enjoying the break.

"Well, if you wanted me to be outcasted, maybe you shouldn't have helped protect me from Monokuma. Voicing your concerns would certainly lead others to do so as well!" Tsumugi smiles down at Maki, but not condescendingly like Kokichi thought she would've. Maybe the whole ringleader reveal is screwing with his view of her.

Kaede puts her hand on Tsumugi's bicep, squeezing it in… comfort? "No, I don't believe that. You would've stood behind you no matter what! You may be the person behind this but… I never really wanted anyone to die."

Tsumugi is silent, shadows falling over her face with her hair. She starts muttering under her breath. "I guess… I don't really care about what happens next… ok. I'm not actually in control of this, what little control I did have was taken away. Of course, I still have ways to make things happen, but they aren't nearly as effective. Well, except one, but if I talk about it, it'll get taken away."

Kokichi blinks. That was...True? His eyes start scanning over her. There, there's an unnatural weight in her pocket. Kokichi kinda wonders what it is but… he knows how secrets are. Nanokuma's are particularly stubborn bastards after all.

"Well, then I guess we gotta change the topic huh? I have a story to tell then! I remember I was around 8 and my parents decided to show me spaghetti and lemme tell you I was  _ not prepared _ . That day I learned that you  _ cannot _ laugh while eating spaghetti-"

"Pfft- what!?" Tsumugi is the first to laugh, Kokichi following. Maki lets out a few giggles as they all share stories, Kokichi's being very obviously situations inside games and movies. Kaede tells random stories from her school, Maki about the kids she "babysat", and Tsumugi with her online friends.

After that, they talk for a while. Honestly, Kokichi forgot to keep track of the time so he doesn't know how long they talked for, other than the fact that it was definitely hours. Eventually, it's dark and Kokichi has used up the whole day… talking. Just talking, like friends do. But… 

_ They hardly know me. I'm a liar and they know, so why are they so friendly. I've killed someone. I killed someone… and was forgiven. _

Eventually, Maki leaves to go meet with Kaito. Tsumugi doesn't seem like she wants to be alone, probably worried about Monokuma. Kaede is… stupidly quick to suggest a sleepover. At first, Kokichi didn't think he's involved, but then they turned to him and he wanted to cry. No clue why… last night doesn't really count but he's totally had sleepovers before! 

…

He… can't remember any. Even with D.I.C.E. and they might be fake. Might. The lack of answers is annoying, but it's not like he can ask Tsumugi without spilling everything to everyone. He'll just have to deal with it. Ok, maybe last night gets to count. As a treat. Totally not so he can remember at least on sleepover.

He's snapped rather abruptly by his thoughts thanks to the sound of snapping right next to his ear. He, rather violently, flinches away from it, looks up to see Kaede, and tilts his head to the side.

"Do you wanna invite anyone else?" She smiles at him, like he's just another friend. Like this is a normal situation.

...Wait. Aren't the motives handed out today? Fuck. Ok, he's got this. He starts playing with his hair as he answers, "Why not just invite everyone?"

"Is… is the room big enough?" "Anything is big enough if you aren't afraid of being cuddled and or squished." "Miu will make comments though…"

Yeah. 

"Put her next to Kiyo and Gonta." "Absolutely not." Tsumugi pouts at him, having found the concept funny. Kaede starts nodding, agreeing with him. If Maki was still here she probably would've rolled her eyes. After a minute Kaede dissolves into tired giggles, the other two eventually joining. Kokichi… isn't exactly tired. He's used to operating on far too little sleep.

Kokichi pushes himself up, playfully glaring at Kaede as she makes a height joke, helping haul up Tsumugi as she claims that her legs are jello and she cannot move, whining as they try to lift her. Kokichi, using his Gonta-like muscles, watches and laughs at Kaede as she tries to carry Tsumugi on her back so they can fetch the others and force them into a sleepover. 

Ok so maybe he's a little tired but that's fine, completely normal. He pulls out his monopad to see who's inside, quickly ringing the bells on the doors an excessive amount. Sooner or later, the Kaede-Tsumugi fusion gathers everyone still outside, a relatively small group. 

"Why the fuck did you call us all out here!? It's late as shit, I'm tired!" Miu is already stripped of all her accessories, leaving just her pink outfit. The others are in similar states, Shuichi without his jacket, Tenko's hair is down, the only one still basically the same is Korekiyo, who's only missing his, also heavily accessorized hat. Gonta's shirt is messy, like he had to quickly throw it back on, Himiko's hat has been thrown to the abyss apparently, Angie's coat is gone which leaves her in just her bikini thingy and skirt that's missing the paint brushes. Ryoma's hat and jacket are gone, Kaito's is wrapped around his waist, Maki doesn't count, and neither does Kirumi.

Kokichi's little trio also has had small appearance changes, with Kokichi's newly painted nails and the back of his hair being in a small pony. Tsumugi just wears her blue skirt and button shirt to sleep, much like Shuichi actually, so that's what she's wearing. Kaede has also forgone everything but the white button up and skirt. In fact… there's a lot of white button ups. Why was no one given pajamas. Kokichi actually has a white tank top under his coat, but that's still not pajamas.

(Note! In canon, this boy very much does not have a tank top and the coat as I call it here is actually his shirt. I don't care though. This boy deserves comfy clothes. I do what I want.)

"We had an idea and all of you are being forced to participate, aka you don't have a choice. Now, everyone go to your rooms and get a blanket and pillow cuz we're all piling in Kaede's room for a sleepover. Again, you don't have a choice so if you try to skip it, I will obnoxiously ring your doorbell for a few minutes before breaking in. And trust me, I can break in." Kokichi smiles a bit too wide, hands behind his back as he leans forward. The downward tilt of his head seems to make him more threatening, and they all eventually shamble into their rooms. Shuichi does it without hesitation. Tenko wraps herself in the blanket and starts rolling around on the floor. Himiko and Angie start pushing her at one point. Korekiyo hasn't had enough time to evaluate every girl, and isn't really the type to kill in a group like this, so him casually standing in the corner, eyes half closed and hugging a pillow to his chest, isn't nearly as intimidating as it should be. But maybe that's because Kokichi has seen him after his death.

Maki tries to lock herself away, not believing that Kokichi can and will break in. Kokichi almost died, but Maki is participating so it's fine. Ryoma also locked his door, but being carried under your armpits is rather effective. Kokichi should know. Miu tried to lock her door. Kokichi begged through the door, then inside her room until she became uncomfortable enough to give in.

Kokichi smiles from his small piece of floor, in between Tenko and Shuichi, Kiibo below him. Shuichi is next to the bed, and Kokichi is absolutely sure Kaede put them next to each other on purpose based on her expression. She must've seen Shuichi this morning, but that doesn't make sense as Kokichi is certain he was hidden and everyone else was outside while they walked out together. Maybe she placed them together for some other reason, but he can't think of one so he's just assuming she knows. He's not talking about it though. Shuichi must've come to a similar conclusion based on his red face, but it gets redder everytime she gives him this pointed look. Strange.

Kokichi ignores them, letting the white noise wash over him. His eyes close as he rests his cheek on his arm, which is on his knees. He's not sleeping, just listening. Tenko Himiko, Kiyo, Angie, and Kirumi are playing a card game together. Tsumugi, Kaede, Maki who's sitting on the bed with two sets of cards, and Kaito are playing a different game. He's pretty sure that the rest, Ryoma and Miu excluded, are playing Uno. Who knows where they got the decks, certainly not Kokichi.

Probably the warehouse actually. When did they have time for that? Maybe while he was breaking into rooms. The power of lock picking. 

He pries open his eyes to look around.

_ I… really changed the outcome. I did it. _ He smiles. _ I did it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,204 words  
> I… expected this to take longer. Y'all really are getting spoiled. This many updates in only a few days? Damn.


	9. Motives be like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /casually yeets the second chapter entirely

Kokichi blinks his eyes open right when he wakes up. He can't remember when he fell asleep, but he does know that it's a bit too hard to breathe. Cautiously he looks down, breath halting at the sight. Not only is he practically squished between Shuichi and Tenko, who both apparently moved closer while sleeping. Or maybe he moved closer and Tenko followed, but he also has Himiko laying across him and Tenko. Shuichi is practically hugging him.

He's stuck.

It's also far too early to be alive, so he's the only one awake. Also, he has confirmed that he is the one that moved, as Shuichi is pressed between him and the bed holding Rantaro… and also apparently Kaito. Not sure how that happened. Kokichi starts trying to squirm, but Himiko is a surprisingly effective weight, and his legs are tangled in Shuichi's. After a few seconds, he stops.

_Tenko will kill me if she wakes up._

He sighs. During his talk with Kaede and Tsumugi, he confirmed that Shuichi is a very heavy, deep sleeper who has a hard time getting up even with the morning announcement. However, Tenko is a different story. Himiko won't care even if she wakes up, and will probably forget eventually. Tenko will remember and blame it on him being a male. He takes a deep breath, and basically rolls Himiko. She doesn't wake, just settling in on the side of Tenko she fell asleep on. The sudden weight loss causes Tenko to shift, getting farther away, leaving just Shuichi.

Huh. That was easy.

His legs are still kinda stuck though. After moving Shuichi's limp arm from his waist, he sits up and lifts Shuichi's leg so he can move his own out. There, now he's free.

Kokichi smiles to himself as he grabs a tablet off the table and sneaks out, knowing about what time it is based on previous patterns. It's maybe 2-4 in the morning. With that knowledge, he breaks into every single room, stealing the same tablet. The motives. The last room he goes into is his own, piling all the motive videos in a drawer, including his own. Then he grabs the white board and puts it in front of the drawer to make just that much more annoying to open.

He nods to himself before leaving again. It seems those bears don't feel like popping up, so he continues until he reaches the door back to Kaede's room. Once there, he feels the familiar feeling of fingers on his throat, hauling him back outside in a very uncomfortable way. He can hear echoing pleads all around him, ghosts asking her to put him down, but Maki doesn't listen, even if the grip isn't as strong as usual.

"What were you doing?" Her eyes are cold, almost glowing in the darkness.

"W-Wow, trying to k-kill me after all the-the bonding we did tod-today?" It's hard to force his words out, he's only barely standing on his toes, hands encircling Maki's on his neck. "That's… pretty ru-de." He laughs, forced and strained. The pressure is enough to spring tears into his eyes.

"Answer."

_There's no point in lying. Don't lie. Tell the truth. It doesn't matter if she knows._

"...Mo-tives." her eyes blink wider before she drops him. Kokichi takes deep breaths and looks at her before continuing. "Motives were handed out, so I hid them. Can't have a murder if you don't have a motive." He coughed occasionally through his words, thinking wistfully to back when he was part of a cuddle pile. Maybe it'll even happen again.

Thankfully, Maki only huffs out a breath before dragging him back inside, expertly dropping him back in his spot and vanishing into hers. Kokichi heaves another, silent, deep breath. 

He lays there for a few seconds before tangling himself right back with Shuichi, slowly manipulating Tenko and Himiko back.

He always has been selfish after all.

\----------------------------

Shuichi wakes slowly, always has and probably always will. That's why it's a bit of a surprise when he's awoken by a high noise. He can't force his eyes to open for now, so he just groans and tries to hug himself tighter. But… there's something in his arms, and the movement caused a slight sliding on his hip. He frowns, more of a pout, and opens his eyes. 

Purple.

It's all… purple. He tries to move his head back so he can see, but just ends up hitting his head. Oh yeah, the sleepover. Were… everyone was piled together. With him next to Ouma, a boy with purple hair. Shuichi moves up, bringing his face out of the mass of purple, but not dislodging the person who's chosen his hip as their own personal pillow. Looking down… yeah he was hugging Ouma like a teddy bear. The person on his hip was Yumeno. Thankfully, neither of them seem to be awake.

There's a few giggles, and he turns to the surrounding people to glare at them… it was still kinda pouty though. And his face is a bit too red to take seriously. Does he always pout when frowning?

"Did you enjoy it~?" Akamatsu's tone is joking, but it still manages to make Shuichi bright red with embarrassment. From his position, he watches as Chabashira also wakes slowly, blinking her eyes open and jumping when she realizes who she's clinging to. She does quickly stop when she notices Yumeno's legs resting across her, looking at Shuichi's flustered face and rolling her eyes before moving her back to her spot. At the sudden lack of warmth, Ouma mumbles something and moves slightly closer, squishing himself even further to Shuichi.

Akamatsu's face gets even more smug. Shuichi is sure that he's never been more embarrassed.

"...Hush, you…" it was supposed to be more forceful, but the combination of stares and Ouma's extreme closeness is making it hard to think through the embarrassed awkwardness.

"Hm, it seems our dear detective is in quite the predicament. Well, might as well go eat." "Y-You too Shinguji!?" 

_Why is everyone teasing me today..._

\----------------------------

Kokichi keeps his eyes closed as everyone leaves. Honestly, he had woken up before Shumai but he was warm and comfortable so he didn't move. Didn't expect to be treated like a stuffed animal, but he managed to suppress a noise of surprise. Shuichi sitting up robbed him of most of the warmth, causing the cold air to rush into the place previously occupied by Shuichi. Himiko being moved by Tenko only made it worse, and boy did he suddenly wish he was in a blanket burrito or something. The noise of protest and moving closer to the only source of warmth left was an accident but things happen. He listens as everyone starts filtering out, people asking a confused Kaito how he got on the bed, Tenko carrying Himiko, Gonta and Kirumi talking about proper etiquette, Kaede talking to a still asleep Rantaro and saying they'll be back soon, things like that. 

Speaking of Rantaro… he should probably be awake by now, right? Like… the concussion wasn't that bad. Probably. Hopefully. Kokichi barely remembers anything from his own concussion, but he knows that he was out like a light after. Maybe it's because Rantero didn't get knocked out knowing that there's two dead bodies, and a shot put ball is quite different from a floorboard. That's all speculation from a boy who knows nothing about concussions except for hands on experience though.

Pap.

_Huh?_

Oh, Shuichi is trying to wake him up by tapping his finger tips against his cheek, like a soft slap. Huh. Kokichi blinks his eyes open, looking directly into Shuichi's golden eyes with his purple one, he's laying on his left so he can't exactly look at him with his yellow eye. He jumps before looking down with a thoughtful expression.

"Ouma… were you awake that whole time?"

Kokichi tilts his head to the side, "What makes you think that?" He looks wide awake, despite the dried drool on his cheek that is going unnoticed by the boy. Shuichi looks off to the side, eyes catching Rantaro and staying there.

"Nishishi! Doesn't matter, let's go to the cafeteria, I'm not an alien like you and actually eat in the mornings. Plus, aliens should interact with a lot of humans so they don't destroy the planet, especially since you were abandoned here at birth with no way to escape and will therefore be exploded as well! That would be a travesty, the worst outcome!" 

Kokichi keeps rambling about the world crumbling around him and violent explosions as they walk, not even paying attention to whatever lies his subconscious comes up with. His mind is currently thinking about RoboBitch. The boy who made the world crumble around him and violent explosions. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he's also realizing just how much he's hung out with Shuichi, but that's not important right now.

Roomba had protected them from Spaceman's rocket debris, that was too fast for it to be even a real time poll. He had then lost his antennae and tried to blow up the school, which would include killing the survivors. It just… doesn't make sense. The real time poll would go on for too long, especially with how many people participate according to Despair Tsumugi. Unless…

_What if it's not a poll with millions of people, but a split second decision from a few?_

Kokichi stops, staring at the floor.

_I wasn't paying attention to reading Shirogane's lies. I could've doomed us all. If I don't figure it out…_

_"H-"_

_Could Monokuma, or whoever is outside, just get impatient and kill us all? Like the motive said? No, nono. He's doing this all for fun, right? That would be pretty boring, like I said before. But… if we're proving to not provide a source of entertainment for him, wouldn't he just get rid of us and move on to the next batch of unlucky children? The next batch, Danganronpa 54 if Shirogane wasn't lying, if we do get out, could I save them too?_

"-?-?"

  
  


_Could I? I'm small… and weak… the only thing I have is my brain and even then, it's failed me before. But… me removing the motive videos has made the second death and trial completely void. They probably won't happen, unless someone pulls some strings behind our backs._

"O-a-?"

_Mommy has been watching her living self since the trial, and apparently ghosts can sleep but don't need to because she didn't notice me leaving. She had to be woken up to try and stop Maki._

"Ou-a-?"

_If she's watching herself, she's definitely the type to tell me if anything changes. Ryoma has been brightening a lot faster due to everyone's efforts, including my attempt that didn't really do much, and he didn't offer himself up to be killed, so maybe-_

"Kokichi!"

Kokichi blinks, eyes wide as he looks up. Right into the eyes of a worried Shuichi. There's hands on his shoulders, like he was seconds away from being shaked. How… How long were they just standing here? Kokichi shoves his worries underneath a signature smile, putting his arms behind his head and ignoring the few ghosts around them asking if he's ok.

"Wow, you look so worried about little old me? Too bad! That was a lie to test your reaction! Aaaaannnnnnyyyyway, you're suuuper slow, so I'm going ahead!" Kokichi dashes off, laughing as he leaves a bewildered Shuichi behind. Instead of going to the dining hall, where he would immediately be found and questioned, he goes to the newly unlocked third floor, making it obvious that he was lying and now he's trying to hide. He finds himself in a dead end... with a chest? It seems like someone found it but was too scared to open it.

He tries to think back to the first loop… but can't remember anyone mentioning a chest. He walks over to it and opens the chest, eyebrow raising at the sight of the flashback light. Seems they were made and placed beforehand, considering Tsumugi was the only one who could make them. Thinking back to Angie's cult thing, she completely broke one with no consequences. Not only does that give him an idea for later, but it also means he can just. Do this.

Kokichi grabs the flashback light, looking around at any cinematic points as those are where Nanokuma's favor, and smashes it on the ground before stepping on it. He smirks to himself, if he can just keep doing this, then he'll have a much smaller headache later.

"Woah woah woahwoah WOAH! What do you think you're doing!" Kokichi looks behind him, giving Monokuma a disinterested look.

"Ruining your plans and being a nuisance? Isn't that all my personality is good for?" He smiles as Monokuma does an over exaggerated jump. "Maybe, just maybe, you should've thought this through a biiiit more~"

Kokichi puts more pressure on the cracked flashback light, managing to split the casing in two, the only thing holding it together are some of the wires, which are also very damaged. Monokuma gasps before looking down sadly, sinking away. Kokichi stretches before walking off, finding himself in Ryoma's prison bathroom.

Walking inside, his smile dropped. Honestly, he doesn't like this room much. Reminds him too much of his motive video, D.I.C.E trapped in a holding cell. Taking a deep breath, he sits under the window, near the sink. The sink Ryoma was drowned in, the window used to go to the gym, the tennis court used as half the rope, the rope that was string between this window and the gym window. Between the windows, he can just barely smell the water, the pool Ryoma was suspended over, the room with the floaty that tied all the evidence together, the room that held the piece of Kirumi's glove.

Kokichi takes another deep breath, this one shaky. _I've managed to fuck up so much withen the last few days. I was too honest, too forgetful, too trusting. If I don't get my act together, I could fail and everyone will die._

_I don't think I'll get a second chance if that happens._

Kokichi curls in on himself, the small victory from the flashback light keeping him from full on sobbing in a room he didn't belong in. 

He's always been good at lying about and hiding everything, but as he said at the beginning, some things can only be hidden. Emotions being one of them.

\----------------------------

Shuichi stands in front of the building, watching as Kokichi gets further away. He had wanted to go after him but...

_"Wait." "Hold on." "Stop." "Minute." "Us." "Us. "Us."_

He… Can't. He can't move, because if he moves he will immediately try to find out what's wrong with Ko-Ouma. Something is telling him not to. Something… or someone.

"...Why?" He whispers it, he might seem a little crazy, talking to himself while frozen in place, but it's for the sake of investigation.

_"...Knows?" "Believes!" "Yes!" "Ahha!" "Facts, lie, emotions, hide."_

He… can't hear anything but. There's something. He knows that believing in ghosts is stupid but then things like this happen. 

_"Facts, lie, emotions, hide."_

It feels slightly windy again, it usually only does when he's with everyone in the group or investigating, but sometimes it's also there with only him and Ouma. Hadn't Ouma said something on the first day? While he was half asleep, being carried by Gokuhara. He was saying something about…

_"Facts, lie, emotions, hide."_

"The best liars can lie to everyone, even themselves. Can't lie away your feelings, but you can hide them." He says it as he remembers, eyes widening. Gokuhara had heard it, and told those still present after dropping him off in his room. He seemed confused, as did everyone else. Shuichi had been confused for a bit too but now, he's positive that it's the answer.

_"Yeah!" "Hm, smart." "WoooOOO!" "Loud bitch!" "Nyahahaha!"_

He lets out a wobbly smile. He's not absolutely sure but...

_"They're all really fond of everyone here…"_

He feels like he's being cheered on.

\----------------------------

Kokichi doesn't react as he feels people touching him, the roaring in his ears blocking out their words. He's panicking, that much is obvious, but he's been pushing down his emotions for so long… the dam broke. He doesn't want to cry, he refuses to cry, but the only other option is to stare blankly into space and feel everything. All of it, but it all feels amplified. Gosh, he wants to go home. He wants to go back to what he knows even if it's fake. Just for a day, he wants to drink hot cocoa, curl up in a blanket play hide n seek, anything with D.I.C.E again. But they aren't real. They aren't, he doesn't deserve people so nice and caring.

÷!÷;1 #3 &/43&÷5 #&^3 1#&1? ÷!÷ #3? 

#3 ÷032;1 43{3{834, #3 ¢&;1 43{3{834.

Kokichi can feel his breath coming faster, the touches getting more desperate, but it's fine. It's fine. He's. Fine. He has to be fine he needs to be stronger so he can find him

_! π40{!23÷ #!{. ! π40{!23÷ #!{._

_Find… Him? Find who? Him. Him? Yes, find him, that's the reason. The reason for what? Who?_

Kokichi doesn't get an answer. All he gets is a flash of black light, that immediately turns a bright purple upon touching a white silhouette. His eyes, previously squeezed shut, relax. His hands, previously grabbing his hair like a lifeline, fall next to him. His breathing evens out from hyperventilating, and he falls unconscious once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,957 words  
> You guys might've noticed that this fic is a bit lighter in tone then canon, and that's because these children aren't traumatized. ...As traumatized. I've added so much ouch to the backstories and I'm so excited to share Kokichi's, but sadly, it's gotta wait. 
> 
> ...Doesn't mean I can't give you a small sneak peek though! I promise it will make sense at the end, and the code WILL be cracked in the story  
> (Aka I have a list of all the things said in the code and will force them into the story with the code, so don't stress that you're missing part of the story by not decoding it!)
> 
> Also, if you guys are also reading my other loop AU, which also features Kokichi, this fic and that one have much different canons for V3.  
> You won't be able to guess one by figuring out the other.
> 
> Now, I wanna do something fun! Put your predictions in the comments (if you want to!) and I'll make little cryptic comments in response! Don't worry about annoying me with notifications, I don't get them from AO3 for some reason. Also, the reason I headcanon Kokichi as not being good with subtlety is because I am also not good at subtlety, so it's basically just a win for y'all


	10. Well that sure happened didn't it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The art of aggressively hiding everything. Aka the fluff after the oof ouchie. I might've watched the love trial animation a lot before writing this so I was in the mood for some dumbass Saiouma shenanigans.  
> Little thing that most people have already figured out about the code: ! Is the only letter made of punctuation, . , ? -_ etc etc aren't part of it. Also, none of the words have ' because I thought that would make it harder

_Kokichi smiles, it's small and pulls at the newly applied bandage on his cheek, but it's there. He leans further into the person next to him so he can see the screen better. His other cheek is squished against his companion’s shoulder, which has surprisingly soft fabric._

_He speaks, voice relaxed in an unfamiliar way, "Yeah, you were right. I guess wrestling moves are pretty cool looking."_

_"! 10/÷ 506 20."_

_Kokichi laughs at his response, small by habit. Sure, they may be hiding in a closet at school, but this is the most relaxed he's been all week. His shoulders are still tense, but not as much as usual._

_"And you really memorized and can do all of them?" A nod. "That's really impressive. Like… this one seems so complicated." He smiles as the other let's out a laugh. He can feel the breath on his nose, the room is hot from the lack of conditioning in the crappy, unventilated, and locked room, and the proximity certainly doesn't help. Not like they have a choice, this room was really only made for half a person and storage. Without the mess, they could probably fit three people. Kokichi is continuously thankful for his smallness, even if it makes it easier for others to..._

_"1#3 ÷40π ~!¢~? #{{... { &583." _

_Kokichi blinks out of his thoughts at the other’s voice, "That's what you did, isn't it? It looked like you were flying…"_

\----------------------------

Kokichi doesn't open his eyes when he wakes up, just lays there. Where? He… doesn't exactly know. Where was he before… ah, he broke the flashback light, then ran off… to Ryoma's newly opened lab. His memory is a bit fuzzy after that. _But… Ryoma's lab floor really shouldn't be this comfortable, right? No, it shouldn't. I'm… on a bed? Why do I keep passing out elsewhere and waking up in a bed with no memory?_

There's also fingers brushing his hair off his forehead while he lays there, something Korekiyo would probably do. He stays still for a few minutes before he decides it's time to figure out if he's about to get eaten or something. He clenches his hands into fists and opens his eyes.

Kae-chan. She's floating on her stomach above him, looking worriedly towards the door while she basically pets him. He's not complaining obviously, but it is kinda confusing. Looking around, he's definitely not in his own room. Good, if they invaded his room again they might be suspicious of the whiteboard blocking the drawer, open it, and decide that he's evil or something. He's too tired to think, turns out whatever went on in Ryoma's lab was pretty exhausting, and that's the best he can come up with.

After a second he pulls his hand up and pokes her arm, causing her to yank it back in surprise. She looks down at him, eyes wide before she sighs in relief and starts petting his hair again. How convenient that she isn't leaving.

"...What's up? I don't really remember what happened after running to Ryoma's lab." It's hard to talk, his throat is dry. She tilts her head down at him.

"...You broke down in the bathroom beneath the window. We were trying to help but you wouldn't respond so we had to get Shuichi to carry you." She sits back, looking like she's kneeling on the wall. Kokichi wishes he could fly again, it was fun. Before she can continue, Avocado version 1 fazes his head through the door.

"Shuichi is coming, act natural." Kokichi immediately strikes an over dramatic pose, getting two equally exasperated looks before he settles back down. Piano rushes to fix the sheet around him, making him look normal by the time the door opens.

Kokichi stares at Shuichi, who catches his eyes and perks up. "Ah-! Ouma!" Kokichi blinks, hadn't he called him Kokichi earlier? He sort of expected him to keep doing it. "I was… really worried."

"How'd you find me anyway? Pretty sure I hid." Kokichi already knows, but it doesn't hurt to hear his side of the story.

"U-Um, well…"

\----------------------------

_Shuichi stays there, smiling to himself for a bit. It doesn't last very long, soon the wind seems to pick up without picking up. He blinks and looks up, turning his head from left to right as if he could see whatever… agitated the ghosts._

"Kokichi!" "Claw-" "Little!" "Out!" "What!" "Sorry-!" "Help!" "Go!" "SHUICHI!"

_He could almost hear it, almost. He didn't though, all he got was that now recognizable feeling. Ouma, he had to get to Ouma. Shuichi doesn't really know what happened, and can only get the impression that Ouma is not ok._

_"O-On it. Um, I don't know where he is though..."_

"Tennis bathroom!"

_Ryoma's lab, Kokichi must've gone there. Shuichi nods and runs in the building. His stamina is surprisingly good for his lack of ever exercising, so he gets there timely, despite his slow speed. He certainly isn't expecting to find Ouma passed out on the ground, some strands of hair pulled out and wrapped around his fingers, and small tear tracks, like he was breaking down but still trying to hide it. He gasps, shock making him pause for a split second before he rushes to sit in front of the smaller boy._

_"K-Kokichi!" He lands heavily on the floor, wincing as he leans in. Ouma is definitely alive, but his skin is clammy and more pale than usual. His heartbeat is fast, but slowing back down to a normal rate. There's small scratches on his cheek and the back of his hand, hard to see from a distance. Shuichi takes a split second to be thankful that he didn't wear his contact, also remembering all the things he noticed when they first met. Shuichi cautiously extends an arm out, hoisting Ouma up and lifting him bridal style. He's… Sorta surprised that he didn't immediately fall. In fact, this feels vaguely familiar. He can't remember ever lifting someone like this though._

"Hey! With all these memories hypothetically missing, who knows what else they did! Maybe they changed our whole pasts…!"

_Face set in determination, Shuichi sets off. Of course, stairs were a small issue, and he also didn't want to invade Ouma's privacy nor go roaming through his pockets, so he just left him in his own room and left to get him some food after two hours of worried watching._

_Ouma_ did _say that he eats breakfast, and he didn't exactly get any._

\----------------------------

Kokichi's eyes widen near imperceptibly, "I've been out for three hours? Wooow, I'm surprised you decided to stalk me for so long! I didn't take you for some creep!" 

_Shumai added a lot more detail than Kae-chan. That must be why my cheek stings… hand is fine though._

Shuichi jumps, shaking his head and hand in panic. He started shaking the other one, but quickly stopped. After a second, he offers the contexts to Kokichi.

"I didn't know what you would like so I just… got really sugary cereal. It's… really convenient that you woke up now, otherwise it would've gotten soggy." Shuichi's face gets redder as he keeps talking, obviously rambling. Kokichi doesn't exactly tune him out, he's still listening to his voice, but the words aren't registering anymore. He reaches out, grabs the bowl, and downs it. He's pretty sure Ran-nii started chanting "chug" at one point while Shuichi and Kaede tried to make him stop so he didn't choke as he was laying down.

"K-Kokichi that's really dangerous…"

"My middle name is danger, Shumai!"

"I... doubt that." Kokichi laughs at his expression. "Shumai is so meeaaaaan… I just passed out and now he's bullying meeeee…" Usually that would be loud and accompanied by tears, but he just laughed and is really tired.

Who knew accidental naps could be so exhausting? While Kokichi starts looking to the side, he feels a poke and yelps, lashing out. He and Shuichi stare into each other's eyes. He managed to grab Shuichi's hand.

"...Sorry-?" "I am not ticklish and if you tell anyone, D.I.C.E will have your soul." "...Sorry...?" "Apology accepted, now, let's gooo!" It's Shuichi's turn to squeak and twitch when Kokichi uses his hand to throw himself up, strategically pinching Shumai's side as he falls onto the bed. Kokichi throws the door open, laughing again as Shuichi scrambles to follow, and runs out. Kokichi doesn't know how long they ran, only knowing that Shumai has far more stamina then Kaito and actually panicking that he might get caught because he's tired. Luckily, he doesn't. Unluckily, he doesn't know how to get out of trees.

"Ouma… can you get down already? It's been like… two minutes." "I am on my throne! I shall only get down when I am accompanied by the best detective in the land!"

Red face, never fails. "O-Ouma… you might fall!" "So join me and you can catch me!" 

There's a sigh, and a few minutes later, there's a detective sitting next to him, on a different branch like a coward. Kokichi laughs again, trying to ignore the fact that he's wasting time for his own selfishness.

"U-Um. Ouma…" "Hm?" "...I can't get down." "I can't either."

They both stare at each other for a few seconds before both start visibly panicking. Kokichi's smile gets tighter, eventually dropping into a stressed grimace. Shuichi is just… Panicking. 

"Ok, I can think of two ways to get out of this. One will take forever, the other is fast but with a range of potential consequences." 

"Um. What's the most extreme consequence?" Shuichi tilts his head at Kokichi, eyes wide and worried.

"Death." 

"L-Least extreme?"

"A sprained ankle."

"...Please don't jump out of the tree." He's eyes go from worried to pleading.

"Shumai, I can't promise you that."

"Ouma, _you_ _just woke up._ "

"It just be like that sometimes, Shumai."

The two are so busy going back and forth, they don't notice the footsteps until after they've stopped and are replaced by a voice.

\----------------------------

"...What were you two doing?"

Kokichi and Shuichi are sitting on the concrete outside the dorms, Maki standing over them. Kokichi is blank faced, meanwhile Shuichi has a sad frown and closed eyes. Looking far too guilty, he really does need lying lessons. Of course, they were only trying to figure out how to get down.

"Shumai and I were making out in the forest!" A disapproving sigh literally echoes around them, coming from Kae-chan. Maki just frowns at him, slaps her hand on his mouth again, and turns to Shuichi. Sadly, she pulls it away too fast for him to lick it again.

"...We got stuck in a tree."

"Yeah I know that, why were you in the tree?"

"We were making-!" "Shut up."

"...Ouma ran off and told me to chase him, but then he climbed a tree and wouldn't get down until I joined him. Turns out, he wouldn't get down because he couldn't, and I couldn't either. Then he started trying to jump out of the tree..." Shuichi used his closing argument voice, otherwise known as his normal voice but for longer sentences like the awkward and shy introvert he is.

"Well, while you two were messing around, a certain someone started showing signs of life again. He'll probably wake soon." The duo both perk up at the news, one far more obvious than the other. "We decided that it's safer to keep sleeping in the room during breakfast, and no one moved their blankets and pillows so we're just staying with Akamatsu."

After that, Maki left them. After a second, Kokichi giggled. "You looked _so_ flustered when I said we kissed!" He shamelessly dissolves into laughter for a split second, cutting himself off quickly and pulling Shuichi by the hand into the dorms. He lets go with a spin, seeing that Shuichi is slightly smiling, before walking into the new designated room.

Inside, Miu has already managed to force Maki into having her hair done into braids. Seems she needs to do something with her hands now that people will worry when she's out too late. Tsumugi is poking at Kiibo's shoulder with increasing force, eyes squinted in concentration. With Kiibo's resigned face, he's probably been sacrificed to the cosplay devil. Kokichi hasn't seen Himiko awake all day, and she's now sprawled across Tenko and Angie's laps. Korekiyo is sitting in the corner, actively stalking them all but that's normal, though his ghost self is talking at him rather desperately. There's a large group playing... go-fish? Most of the ghosts are hovering above that group to help people cheat, others are either not there or just talking on the ceiling.

As they walk in, a few people turn to look for a second before turning back, but the rest are so focused on the game that they hardly notice the two entering. They can't exactly join the game, Tenko won't let them near Himiko, and Korekiyo is creepy. So the only options are to wait for a new game or sit around. Kaito makes the decision for them, making everyone widen the already huge and uneven circle even more to make room. Miu, predictably, shouts a comment about Kokichi sitting on Shuichi's lap and is definitely surprised when Kokichi sits next to Shuichi, legs over his lap. It goes basically ignored by everyone else. Of course, signature red face from the detective. 

Kokichi knows that he actually has no clue how to play go-fish, but he’s certainly not going to let anyone else know that.

\----------------------------

_Ouma is totally cheating._ Shuichi knows. He knows for certain that Ouma is bullshitting them all. In fact, he's pretty sure that Ouma doesn't even know how to play. Momota is also starting to get suspicious, but he evidently isn't sure. There is something slightly distracting him as he tries to play _(I swear I'm not this good at this game…_ Shuichi remains unaware of the ghosts manipulating everyone else into losing) but it's pretty easy for him to block it out. Others seem to be kinda distracted by it though.

“What are you singing to yourself over there, Ouma?” Ouma jumps and looks up at Tojo’s voice. To be honest, I don't know how go-fish works either, but if there's a way to be disqualified or something then she's that. Akamatsu, who’s next to her, nods while looking at Ouma, whispering to herself. He blinks at them, genuine confusions on his face.

“...I was singing?” 

Momota nods, “Yeah, it sounded like English to me, but I couldn't make out the words. Sounded nice though, you have a nice voice bro!” He does a thumbs up, almost dropping his cards. Gokuhara covers them from any possible peering eyes, Hoshi sighs from his spot next to them. Ouma raises an eyebrow and starts screeching an unidentifiable song. Shuichi jumps, pausing a second before he starts humming the melody Ouma is managing to stick to. Eventually, he figures out the words to the popular song and starts singing. Momota, sitting next to Shuichi, leans in closer and joins in, soon most of the room is singing along to Ouma’s weird, spur of the moment sing-along. When the song ends, Shuichi’s ears are left ringing from the sudden lack of screaming. And… this feels like a moment where Momokuma would've popped in to ruin all of their moods. But he’s not here. Honestly, there’s been multiple moments where Monokuma probably should've popped up. He can’t help the slight tension in his shoulders as they finish the game and head back to their sleeping spots. 

Shuichi lays down, back against the bed as he lays on the floor. Ouma seems to full on break his ribs as he flops on the floor as hard as possible, Chabashira winces as she watches, already being in her spot. Akamatsu, in between Momota and the foot of the bed, grabs Shirogane by the hands and starts spinning in circles, almost stepping on Kiibo and Kirumi, who were under those next to the bed. No one complains, even as they slowly drag others into their little circle of damaged ankles. Seriously, how did none of them hurt themselves on the bed corners or table. Ouma refuses, claiming he has lost feeling in his legs, then that a second personality comes out when he does anything physical, which was quickly debunked by Harukawa.

Soon, everyone fell asleep, including the insomniac detective.

\----------------------------

Kokichi is still awake. Has been for a while actually. All he knows is that everyone around him is definitely asleep, but he still keeps his breathing slow and even. He’s wishing they didn't decide to do permanent sleepovers now, would've given him a safe space to try and shove out all those pesky emotions. Before he can delve into his mind and emotions again, something he doesn't do nearly often enough to be healthy, he feels a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, it reveals itself to be Rocky.

“Hey dude, you already know the answers, why are you stressing so much?” “...I wasn’t paying attention during the sixth trial. I don't know whether Shirogane was telling the truth, I didn't think it would be important again. Nothing she said can be confirmed, based on all this, she might not have even been on their side completely, since she's so willing to throw them under the bus for us, a bunch of characters if we go by her words.” Kokichi sighs, feeling drained. He sifts onto his other side and finds himself once again curled up into Shumai’s chest. He just accepts it, feeling Tenko shift into the spot previously occupied by him once more.

“Hey, Kichi? I think we got this. Even if we don't know for sure, some of the people here are pretty smart, I bet you can help them figure it out.

_Quite a lot of pressure for some random teenager…_

\----------------------------

_Kokichi hops out of his window, spotting a person a bit ahead. The person seems reluctant to be at school, hands in their pockets and walking slowly. Because of the slow speed, Kokichi quickly catches up to them. To his surprise, it’s the one from yesterday! The one with the wrestling moves, maybe…_

_Kokichi doesn't get to finish as his short legs finally drag him into their field of vision. They let out a small gasp and speed up to match his pace. “0#, #3//0 &9&!;.” _

_Kokichi smiles nervously at the other. “!12 43 &//5 ;!¢3 10 233 506 10÷&5 100.” _

_In a single sentence, his smile brightens to levels he didn't think it could. He gets attached too easily… this person could very quickly turn on him. All thoughts of that manor are banished as they protectively grab his hand while they walk into school, completely ruining their reputation in a single action._

_Kokichi doesn't get beat up at school that day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is 90 pages in the Google doc I write it in, it takes fukin forever to load. I had this done on the 14th (8 a.m. in my time which is like… -6? But then there’s daylight savings goin on…), but my mom took my phone and I was writing it on my school laptop, which has AO3 blocked. I kinda can't put the word count either… I’ll put it when I get my phone back, cuz I think I might be able to add the chapter on my mom’s computer, but still not the word count. Basically, this is the only thing keeping me from going insane from boredom so i'm probably going to keep writing chapters. Wonder how many I'll have when I get my phone back.
> 
> Ok, it's only an hour after I wrote that ^^^ and I temporarily got my phone back, so you're getting another chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this story is getting slightly repetitive…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so according to Tumblr I'm confusing you guys a bit too much. So, here's this. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY 100% A TIME LOOP AU. KOKICHI AND THE GHOSTS TIME TRAVELED, NO ONE ELSE HAS MEMORIES FROM THE FIRST GAME. I understand that ya gotta look at all the possibilities… But didja look at the tags first? It’s called Ghost Loop for a reason y’know. Even if it’s not technically a loop considering it’s just gonna be once, if you want multiple loops and different murders then ya gotta go to Antagonist Loop AU. ...I really hate the title of this fic, won't change it tho

Kokichi wakes up to the loudest sound he can remember hearing in his life, even louder than the killing motivation videos. It only lasts a few seconds, but it's enough to hurt his sensitive ears. From the groans and muttered cursing after it vanishes, he’s not the only one. Or they just hate being woken up so abruptly. Either or.

“Ok! Now that all of you miscreants are awake-!” “Head on down to the gym for an announcement!”

There's more things spoken, mostly from Keade and Kaito, before they notice something. Rantaro is also awake. Loud noises start back up again, people screaming at him but generally keeping their distance. Kokichi has no such boundaries and gets on the bed with the sitting and slightly overwhelmed man. 

Rantaro turns to him, expression slightly softening, "Hey Kichi, how long have I been out?"

"Two days." Rantaro barely got to react before Kokichi started hugging him, "You were unconscious for two. Days." Rantaro slowly wraps his arms around the smaller boy, letting Kokichi turn into a liquid like a cat. Eventually, He speaks up once heard by everyone.

"Well, you all heard the announcement. Let's get to the gym, I'm sure it'll be ok." He does that fake relaxed smile, patting Kokichi's back. Everyone nods and starts the long walk to the gym in a giant clump. Kokichi is at the back with Kirumi, Maki, and Angie. Rantaro had been dragged into excessive apologies from Kaede and Tsumugi. They don't really talk as they walk.

When they arrive, they all stand in their usual standing places, which is weird because it's not like they have assigned spots, they just automatically stand in the same places. And wait. Damn bear likes to be fashionably late, huh. Kokichi pouts, not remembering this happening and knowing he's actually going to have to pay attention. How annoying, there's going to be so much wasted time. As he sulks, he slowly starts leaning forward until he's putting all his weight against Shumai. 

After a few more seconds of Shuichi trying not to fall without letting Kokichi fall, Monobear pops up. He's quite obviously  _ fur _ ious. The Monokubs are all cowering, scared looking.

"Well, well, well, WELL! I can't believe it! I passed out a perfectly good motive for all of you, and it gets stolen before anyone even sees it!? That's such bullshit!"

"But daddy, you didn't pass them out, we did…"

"Awww, my adorable kubs… if you don't shut up now, I'm gonna press this button to explode you instantly!"

"A-All of us?" "But Pops! Only Monophanie spoke up!" "Yeah-!"

There's a very, very loud sound before the heat washes over them. Kokichi gets knocked to the ground, ears ringing as all of them land in a pile on the floor, gathering together for safety. Kokichi gets dragged by the hands by Shuichi and Kaito, some ghosts also pushing and pulling him, but he's too busy trying to blink spots out of his eyes to pay attention to who. The heat from the explosion is far too much, some people are already sweating. Thankfully, they stood far enough away that no one was burned by the initial explosion nor the shockwave or after wave or whatever. As they scoot back to sit against the door, shrapnel starts hitting around them, under Tsumugi's suggestion, backed by some ghosts, Gonta grabs Kiibo's waist and uses him to block the remains. He's screaming the whole time, but considering how loud everything is, it's still hard to hear.

_ "That was… a lot bigger than the last trial's explosion."  _ Kokichi nods in agreement, knowing no one living will notice in the panic. He takes some deep breaths to calm his racing heart, seeing that explosion…

_ I can't help but be reminded of the last loop. Kiibo still has his antennae, Shuichi isn't as reliant on one person alone and is slowly going more independent, Himiko is slightly more lazy, Rantaro is… protecting us? _

It's true, both the living and ghost are near the front, acting like a barrier so they get hurt before everyone else, though one would be slightly more effective if every ghost wasn't creating a giant link with him at the center so they can protect everyone too.

After a good while, a weird sound starts, the fire dying under what reveals itself to be Monokuma with a fire extinguisher. There's a loud silence in which people look around, realising that the other Monkubs are also in the huddle, protected mainly by Tsumugi, Angie, Kirumi, and Gonta's huge back. 

Monokid, the blue rockstar, is nowhere to be seen. 

Kokichi blanks as some of the Monokubs start sobbing, mainly Monophanie and Monotaro. He should've expected this, there was no execution so Monokid wasn't killed, of course he had to be killed another way. Does this mean… there's no way to save them? Yeah they're annoying, but they're just doing what Monokuma says thanks to a fucked up sense of bond. They feel obligated to because he's they're father.

"...Hey, why are you all huddled together by the door? The explosion wasn't even that big. And why are you crying? I told you it would happen!"

"Hmmmmmm…. Ya know… this might just be me, but I'm like… 70% sure that murdering one of your children in public makes you lose the right to the rest. What d'you guys think?" Tsumugi, who is hugging Monophanie in her lap, nods in agreement to Kokichi. Kiibo, having been let down and is sitting next to Miu, is surrounded by the rest. Miu was unfortunately involved. Seems the whole 'Monotaro calls Miu and Kiibo mommy and daddy' thing is happening early. Maybe. 

"Yeah, that's a pretty shitty thing to do."

"Aw whatever. They're pretty useless anyway. Now, as I was saying, one of you fuckers stole my motive, and the next one isn't even ready yet! It'll be ready in a few days, so I  _ guess _ I might as well give you all something to do while waiting." After Monokuma speaks he just… tosses out the next prizes, a hammer, scroll thing, and key that looks like it belongs in Minecraft. Really? He's just skipping the second trial?  _ Really!? _

_ If I can make him completely skip a death… what else can I do? _ Kokichi smiles to himself as people gape at the items. Monokuma disappears, but the Monokubs are all staying with Kiibo and Miu. 

"Well, what do we do now?" Kaito speaks up, crouching down to grab one of the objects, the golden hammer. Honestly, Kokichi isn't paying attention again. 

_ Last loop, I had just followed Shuichi around while he discovered things on the 4th floor. But also, Maki's talent had been revealed the night before. If the patterns continue, her talent will be revealed some other way. In fact, she wasn't guarding her room on the first day, right? Wouldn't Shuichi have discovered it? Or maybe… I didn't see Kaito, maybe he was guarding it for her. At least they don't have to deal with the clusterfuck that was Mommy's trial, and have been spared the trauma of watching their own video. Actually… some of them already have trauma, don't they? From the motive videos and what they've told me… and what I overheard, Himiko and Tenko with their Masters, Maki sacrificing herself for her friend, Korekiyo's sister shit which we've still got to discover whether or not he was lying but everyone doesn't really want to talk to his creepy ass, Miu has so many complexes and definitely needs therapy, probably Kaede too, Shumai and his eye trauma which I feel so bad about eavsdropping on while in the vents, Angie probably has trauma too just knowing her, Gonta has something going on with his animal family and people family I think, Rantaro also has something because of his sisters, Ryoma's mafia murder family, Kiibo the ex-human who really wants to be human again, Tsumugi masterminding this thing means she probably has something, and Kirumi has probably never had friends before based on how she acts around others. _

_...Did I just name everyone? Well, other than me but apparently I was abused so I think that speaks for itself. Damn, when we get- out off…  _

_ When? _

"Ouma!"  _ Oh shit-? _

Kokichi blinks and automatically looks up, knowing he is one of the shortest and Ryoma definitely couldn't reach his shoulders to grab them like this. It's strange, knowing he's two feet taller than him. Also couldn't be Himiko just because she wouldn't. Not a ghost, missing the echo, in conclusion, they gotta be taller.

...It's Maki and Kaito, with Shuichi in what's basically a friendly chokehold. They're all holding one item, Maki with the hammer, Kaito with the magic key, and Shuichi with the ninja scroll or whatever it's called.

"You're joining, you don't have a choice. Let's go." Kokichi doesn't get a chance to respond before she grabs him by the elbow and starts dragging him along. Shuichi is in a similar state, moving his legs awkwardly and quickly in an attempt to not fall flat on his ass. He fails near the stairs, and has the luxury of walking as Kaito let's go. Maki doesn't seem to be in the mood to spare mercy on Kokichi's poor, fragile little body, and he isn't exactly strong enough to break out of her grasp. He ends up just spacing out until the signature chill of the fourth floor reaches the group.

"...Oh." "W-Why does this place have s-such a different atmosphere.." "Hey Kaito?" "What?" Kokichi smiles, just a bit too large for his face, "...Boo." "ARG!"

They all watch with surprise as Kaito runs off, empty handed. "...Is he really  _ that _ afraid? I barely even did anything…" In fact, he did less than last time. Maki sighs and tightens her hold on him, like she's never planning on letting go. Might as well chop his legs off if they're just going to weight him down. 

As they walk in, a few others join, Korekiyo, Gonta, Himiko, Miu, Kiibo, the Monochildren, and Angie to be specific. Which is actually a lot but Miu and Kiibo quickly notice the glass and have Maki smash it to pieces, leaving them without a person and five robots. Kokichi already knows what goes on in there, and really  _ really _ doesn't want to think about it. He ignores everyone, especially Gonta and Miu. At one point, they leave, but Kokichi is a bit busy forcing himself to zone out to notice. Then they walk into Korekiyo's lab, and Kokichi decides that it's time for him to have a little fun on this boring and honestly painful both emotionally and physically trip. 

Twisting and turning, he manages to take Maki by surprise and get free, so he spreads his arms out behind him and speeds to the center of the room so she can't grab him again.

"Woooow~ nishishi! There's so much old junk in here!" "This is not junk you absolute buffoon, look this sword is-" Kokichi ignores him and grabs the sword he pointed to, holding it over his head and sliding around. "If you break that...  _ I will tear out your nerves _ ." 

_ Jeez, and ghostie wonders why we aren't trying to talk to his living self to get answers. That's fucking terrifying. _

"Gotta catch me to kill me~!" He sings it, before he would've been scared shitless and stopped, but he was told that nobody loved him and he'll die alone, pretended to be the mastermind, practiced wrestling, painted himself with red and white circles, and got the same treatment as an ant. He's still sorta afraid, but now he knows that Korekiyo only kills females that he seems worthy. Kokichi is neither female, nor worthy.

There's an annoyed and an amused huff of breath, coming from Maki and Shuichi respectively.

\----------------------------

Kokichi is slung over Maki's shoulder and is completely unable to move thanks to a long rope Korekiyo had been just... carrying around for some godforsaken reason. Even his mouth is bound which is absolutely not fair. Tsumugi didn't get this treatment, and she tried to murder Mr. Green Grape! Hell, Shirogane succeeded, meaning Tsumugi definitely could. All Kokichi has done is play some pranks. In fact, Maki knows that he's the one who fucked with the Kubspads, so why is she doing this!

He catches Shuichi's eyes as they walk in, his eyes are slightly worried but a little amused, Kokichi knows that his own are pouty and a little wet but also annoyed. If this goes on for any longer, Kokichi will cry. Actually… didn't he have that phase of trying to learn every code possible? 

F-U-C-K.

He taps it out on Maki's back, and might've gotten some letters wrong. He learned too many codes at once so none of them fully stuck. Shuichi makes some soft noises from where he's walking behind Maki. Laughter probably, he seems to be in a giggly mood today. Maybe it's the Monobear's fault. Or Rantaro waking up. He's probably exploring the third floor first before coming up here despite having seen it already on a map.

"If you keep tapping on me, I'll kill you." "Mwaffs dwa swffnf grff vrep v mphf un uwn ohwr!" Kokichi isn't quite sure how it sounds to them, but he said, "That's the second death threat I've gotten in one hour!" Shuichi laughs again, but he's trying to muffle it. Seems him being hung upside down and unable to speak is just hilarious. Maybe it's the sight of the back of his neck. Maybe the fact that everyone is wearing the same clothes as yesterday cuz Monokuma didn't let them change. Oh, speaking of, Kokichi is suddenly really glad that he never took off his coat in the room while it's warm from all the bodies. He might not have a scar from the times he was strangled, but he certainly does from where he was shot. Twice. It's strange that the scars carried over but not the poison, but the scars were also on his ghost so it probably makes sense in some way, somehow.

While he's thinking, they finally reach Angie's lab. Kokichi looks towards the other door, the one that had been used to create the locked room mystery in Angie's murder. The one right next to where her dead body was placed. 

Kokichi shudders. Murderers are the _ worst. _

_ But none of them really killed, did they? Desperation shouldn't count. Gonta doesn't count, Kaede doesn't count, Kirumi, but… using that logic, wouldn't I also not count?  _

Kokichi shuts down his train of thought like Korekiyo with a floorboard. He's on the floor now, still tied up. Maki and Shuichi are investigating while Angie looks through the different colors with Himiko. Gonta was left behind with Kiyo, offering to listen to his anthropology rants. He already knows this room down to the locks on both of the doors, so there's no need for him to investigate. Not when all this room is doing is making him look at Ange like he's expecting her neck to start bleeding and her head to have enough trauma to knock her unconscious. Like Himiko is going to break down crying.

Kokichi takes a deep breath. Yeah, he has a few issues, but that was already a well known fact, right? Guess his whole abuse thing isn't the only reason he'll probably need therapy when they all get out. ...When? Again? If. There's no guarantees, they could all die and he could fail, so if. Not when. He takes another deep breath, closing his eyes.

It doesn't help when all he sees is two dead girls just trying to help and getting punished for it. He doesn't notice when he completely nods off, all the stress must've done it.

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi sighs as they sit in the bathroom at his new friend's house. It's been… a few weeks since they met. They're in middle school still, and the other has once again hurt his knuckles while punching a bully. Their hand is resting on Kokichi's legs as he holds the injured one, putting band-aids on it so it doesn't get blood everywhere, as it had been previously. _

_ "Are you sure you're fine? No pain?"  _

_ "53&#." _

_ He pours antiseptic directly on the cut without warning, getting some on his pants. Both hands curl in, the one on his leg being tight enough to hurt his bruise. His friend flinches, face going red after a moment. _

_ "Liar." Kokichi smiles at his friend, watching as they blush from embarrassment at being caught so quickly. "0~ 0~, 50643 4!9#1. !1 #6412 /!~3 & 8!1¢#." _

_ "At least you're being honest. Even if the potty mouth is a bit much." _

_ They snort. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,793 words  
> I hope you guys are enjoying the little dream sequences, I really like writing them. They're cute. 
> 
> This fic is… surprisingly big. I remember back a few months ago, I would obsessively keep track of the kudos because I thought no one would ever comment on my fics, let alone every chapter, but now I have over 400 and so many of you comment so I think I'm dying? Y'all are so nice? I might cry? I got called queen and I djshsjshdidhdjhdizhdhsjdhkajd


	12. More filler shit I guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am out of ideas for these little beginning messages… also, would you guys be mad if Kokichi managed to end the kg before the 5th chapter? Cuz like… I'm having no thoughts disease for chapter 4-6. If I make chapter 4 the last one, it would fit with how fast things are happening. If you guys wonder why my paragraphs are so small on the computer, I write on my phone in google docs.

Shuichi looks over his shoulder to check on the tied up Ouma again, he blinks in surprise at him being fast asleep. Honestly, he's not sure why Harukawa is so determined to make him stay and unable to leave. Maybe it's because of how good he is at avoiding people? It did take her a few hours to find him that day before Amami's trial. Speaking of Amami's trial… he keeps forgetting to tell everyone. He'll do it later. Maki scoffs next to him, following his gaze to the sleeping boy. 

"Um, Harukawa, why did you have to tie him up?" "I need to talk to him." "...But then why investigate with me? You could've just talked to him earlier." Shuichi tilts his head at her. They're whispering, Yanaga and Yumeno can't hear them. "... You and Momota need to be there too. I knew you would be tasked with investigating, so I just followed you."

Shuichi blinks at Harukawa, turning to glance at Ouma's sleeping form again before looking back at her, face conveying his confusion. She sighs.

"I'll tell you later, once everyone is present… and awake."

Shuichi nods, satisfied with the answer, and goes back to inching his way towards some bottles behind a large stack of paint cans. 

\----------------------------

_Kokichi and 2#6!¢#! Stand together on a bed. His friend's bed is surprisingly soft, apparently it's custom made for the other. They both have band-aids, but one is covering bruises and the other is covering battle wounds._

_"Wait, how do you position the fist again?" The other giggles and reaches over to adjust his hand, wobbling a little on the mattress. "Oh. Well. I was kinda close." Full on laughter now. Must be in a giggly mood. Maybe it's the sight of his with his hair in a ponytail. Maybe it's his attempts at self defense training. He's failing spectacularly, and doesn't have the body for most of the moves, so all he can really do is grapple, jab, and the occasional calculated kick. If one isn't careful with kicks, the foot can be grabbed and it's very easy to pull them off balance like that. At least, that's what Kokichi's friend said._

_They look up, eyes slightly obstructed as always, "! 1#!;~ 506 ¢ &; 931 !1, 50643 43&//5 2{&41." Kokichi flushes at the unexpected praise. _

_"A-Ah, no… I have mostly bad grades, so I can't be smart."_

_"1# &12 83¢&623 ;0;3 0° 1#3 °6¢~342 &1 2¢#00/ ~;0} #0} 10 13&¢# 506. &;÷ π30π/3 &43 ÷!214&¢1!;9 506 ¢0;21&;1/5, 50643 83!;9 π!¢~3÷ 0; &;÷ 9!^3; 6;°&!4 ÷!2&÷^&;1&932." Kokichi jumps at the passionate rant, knowing that if it was anyone else, they would've raised their voice. However, his friend always has a soft voice, like talking louder would probably hurt them. _

_" &-&#, ÷!÷ ! 2¢&43 506? 20445 Ouma…" Their face is a little red, it seems they surprised themself with the outburst too. _

_"Ah, it's fine, I just didn't expect it! ...Thank you…"_

_They try to keep practicing, but both of them are so flustered that they eventually give up._

\----------------------------

Shuichi and Harukawa finally explore all they can in Yanaga's lab, the two different locks are kinda weird and unnecessary but he ignores it. Now they're standing over Ouma, looking down at him. "Is… is he gonna wake up?"

"Evidently not." Harukawa sits next to him, poking at his hair with squinted eyes. "...I genuinely don't believe that he's ever brushed his hair."

Shuichi chokes, "I-I think that ever might be an overstatement? And I'm pretty sure he does…"

"Have you ever seen him brush it?"

"A-Am I supposed to stalk him!?" Shuichi feels blush on his cheeks at the implications of that. Harukawa ignores him, grabbing one of Ouma's locks of hair and running her fingers through it, revealing that she barely can and almost pulled his hair right out of his scalp. He was only saved by her other hand.

"Are you absolutely sure that he's ever brushed it."

_"Has he?" "Nope." "How do you know?" "Look."_

Shuichi bites at his lip, looking down. "...No, I don't think he has "

"I can't stand for this. C'mon, we're kidnapping him and Momota and we're saving his hair. Then we'll talk." Harukawa carefully pries her fingers out of his hair, "At least it's clean…"

Shuichi follows her as she carries Ouma bridal style, looking for wherever Momota disappeared to. Eventually they find him sitting on the stairs, waiting for them.

\----------------------------

Kokichi wakes up when water hits his face. Yep, water. He coughs and sputters as he gets it up his nose, but is pretty ok overall. Still though, he flips whoever is in front of him off. Rapidly blinking, he manages to recognize the person in front of him. Maki. He lowers his hand, once again thanking that he's no longer wearing his contact. 

"M-Maki what the fuck!" "Wake up." "I'M ALREADY AWAKE!" "Good.* Maki grabs something and starts… brushing his hair? It hurts like a bitch, and when she's done, she leaves without another word. Kokichi grumbles to himself, slowly taking his jacket off so as to not touch himself with the cold, wet fabric. His t-shirt is slightly more dry, still soft so Kokichi is keeping it on. Besides, he doesn't really feel like strutting out of the… bathroom shirtless. Who knows when they got in a bathroom, just how tired was he?

Kokichi ties his jacket around his waist backwards to avoid the worst of the water, loose enough that he's not basically wearing a belt but tight enough so it doesn't fall off. He ties his hair back too, must be Maki's bathroom considering the massive amount of hair ties. Thankfully, there's a whole rainbow of colors, not just red, so he chooses an actual rainbow tie. Gotta live up to the gay agenda after all. His bangs escape as usual which is sort of a bummer as they were hit by the most water, but a nearby towel does enough for him. 

_"You good, Kokichi?"_

"Yeah… Yeah I'm good. Thanks Rocky." The ghost of Kaito makes a thumbs up, smiling widely.

Pushing the door open with a bored expression, Kokichi is met with the sight of Kaito laying on the floor, pretending to be dead while Maki softly hits Shuichi on the head. After he's hit a few more times, Kaito loudly informs Shuichi that he's dead now, which he responds by looking between them, confused, and slowly lowering himself to the floor. Maki then gasps in a very monotone way, continuing this weird game… play thing in that same tone.

"Oh noo… all my friends are dead… I've killed them… I can't live like this…" she rolls her hand against her forehead in a mockery of dramatics, her eyes rolling along with it. Kokichi hops back into the bathroom for a split second before returning.

"You're right! You can't live like this!" Kokichi smiles playfully and puts his right hand up in a fake crossbow way, shooting her. Ex-spaceman winces, Maki gasping in a slightly more real way and following Shuichi to the floor. Kokichi laughs overdramatically as she lands, before gasping and coughing up some water from seemingly nowhere, falling to the floor in a surprisingly realistic way. 

"O-Ouma…?" _"What the fuck, Kokichi."_

"Shhhh, Shumai! We're dead!" 

Shuichi laughs, "Yeah, are you enjoying it?"

"Not gonna lie, the flying is pretty fun. The physics around it are weird though. Clothes flap in the wind, yet there is no wind nor gravity." Kokichi is pretty sure he complained about this before, but it must not have been voiced as he can't remember for the life of him. Maybe he'll bring this up around Miu. That would be pretty funny. "So like… why were we performing a Roman tragedy? Certainly wasn't a comedy, that's for sure."

"You were taking forever, Ouma! They got bored and we decided to mess around while waiting, that way everyone wins!"

Kokichi crosses his arms over his chest, "I got soaked, pretty sure I didn't win."

"Hm? Ouma, what's that?" "What's what? Gotta be more specific Kaito, cuz this is my hair, but _this_ is my yellow eye, and this is my left leg." While naming some of them, Kokichi makes gestures to each one.

"That! On your arm. It's like… circular and light." Kokichi tenses. Damn. Kaito may be stupid, but he's good when it comes to people. Rocky looks over at Kokichi, confused but with a slightly worried expression. Kokichi covers it up by smiling far too wide, hands clasped behind his back and leaning forward.

"Must be from the acid Maki threw at me in the bathroom!" "A-Acid?"

"No, idiot. I threw water at him. He's lying again." "Yeah, she's right. I _am_ a liar after all! Honestly, I don't know where it's from."

Shuichi tilts his head at Kokichi. At this point, they're much closer than they were at most points last time, and those points where they were this close didn't last long at all. That means Shuichi is probably better at reading him. 

_Fuck._

"But… that's a lie, isn't it? Based on the way you tensed… I think you've been deliberately trying to hide it from us. Please, just tell us what it is?" Ah, damn. He looks like a kicked puppy. Kokichi can't lie to that face. Well, lies of omission are quite easy.

"It's a scar."

The room is in uproar. Kaito is yelling and trying to get up, but keeps tripping on his jacket. Shuichi is trying to scramble over to him but Kaito is in the way and he's too polite to crawl across her bed. Maki has no such qualms, this being her room. She practically vaults the bed and grabs his arms, looking for the scar. Kokichi raises an eyebrow.

"Wow, for someone you nearly crushed my windpipe the other day, you seem awfully concerned for my well being." Her cheeks glow and she determinedly looks everywhere but his face.

"...You remind me of the kids at the orphanage sometimes."

_Oh. Oh shit. Am I really that immature?_

She finds it and drops his left arm, examining the scar. "This… looks recent. Very recently, scarred over a week ago maybe. Just before we were taken here. Ouma… what was this from?"

Silence. No one speaks, especially not Kokichi.

"...Ouma." After waiting a few more seconds, she sighs. "It's certainly a puncture wound, not a slash or stab, definitely not a burn. Based on it's position, you were either shot on the side, or moved your arm to protect yourself in the front. Of course, if you had done that then it would be on your lower arm, not your upper, so you were shot unexpectedly." She infodumps about his save while looking him directly in the face. For an assassin, she sure knows a lot about injuries after death.

Shuichi finally manages to maneuver around Kaito, who's still struggling on the floor, and puts his hand next to the scar on Kokichi's arm. "K-Kokichi… please? We're worried…"

Kokichi looks off to the side, locking eyes with the only ghost in the room. He's never been good at trusting people, he really doesn't want them to know, what if they were chosen as a new mastermind after Tsumugi was revealed? However, Kaito has always been trusting, even when it nearly or did get him killed. He has determination in his gaze. There's a second, and then Kaito nods. Kokichi, against all odds, trusts him enough to do it too.

"Shot. Wasn't a bullet, but a crossbow." Maki twitches, obviously thinking about her lab, "...Twice." everyone chokes, some louder than others. Maki is the quickest to recover, but still isn't quite prepared for the rest. "The second arrow was laced with poison."

Shuichi grabs his unscarred arm, like he needs physical reassurance that Kokichi is still ok, worried eyes locked with his own. Maki looks at him with suspicion for a few seconds, but when he doesn't pop out with his signature, "But that's a lie!" her eyes narrow. The bloodlust is almost palpable, but Shuichi seems to feel none of it. Kaito, finally managing to stand, puts a hand on her shoulder. She shrugs it off and takes a deep breath. "Ouma. Where." 

Kokichi doesn't respond verbally. If he did, it would probably be a lie anyway. He just shrugs off his shirt and turns around. They take a moment, probably thinking about how pale or skinny he is, and then Maki's cold ass fingers touch his back. He yelps and moves away from her. "AAAHH!! MAKI'S TRYING TO KILL ME WITH HER FUCKIN FREEZING FINGERS WHAT THE HELL!" Shuichi also pokes it, getting his slightly less cold fingers slapped. "It's official, neither of you are allowed to touch me without permission." Before Kaito could take his turn, Kokichi grabs his hand. "You. You're acceptable. Warm them."

This ends with Kaito and Kokichi both grabbing one of Maki and Shuichi's hands, Kokichi still shirtless which is exactly what he wanted to avoid when coming out here. Once he approves of their warmth, he lets them investigate his back scar. 

“It's the same as the other one, but it's nearly right on his spine… looks like someone had wanted to kill him but missed..” Maki mumbles to herself. Kokichi can’t see her but she's probably running her fingers through her hair.

“Oh trust me, they absolutely didn't miss! Getting tortured for information you don't even have sure is fun, huh?” Wow, his experience last game sure sounds tragic if you don't know what he did. Sadly, he sure does.

“T-Tortured!?” “OUMA, WHAT THE HELL!” _“Kokichi, you're making this sound so baaad… I’m sorry bro…”_

“Hm. So they missed on purpose. Any closer and it would've shattered your spine. They must have been very experienced.” “Yeah, you could say that.” 

_“You're being pretty honest here, Kokichi.”_ “Yeah, I’m being honest here so don't,” he fake sniffs, Maki’s calm expression falls further, “dON’T BE MEEEAAAAAN! I'M TELLING THE TRUTH…!” It may be fake, but crying is still quite cathartic. Shuichi looks like he's about to pass out from stress and worry, Kaito looks just about ready to hug him and never let go, like that'll help anything, and Maki is still trying to learn anything she can about the wound but not asking questions. She hasn’t even asked what poison it was. Maybe it doesn't matter though.

It shouldn't matter, not after everything.

\----------------------------

They all sit around in a circle, Kokichi once again dressed. Seems it's time to talk about whatever they came here for in the first place. Maki takes a deep breath, Spacey sits next to her, almost touching shoulders.

"Since everyone is being all trusting and… nice, I figured… I might as well come out with a secret. You guys are two of the people I'm closest to, and the little gremlin already knows, so I'm telling you guys first. I'm not the Ultimate Child Caregiver. I'm actually the Ultimate Assassin."

They blink.

"Wooow~! I didn't think you would come right out and say it, Ma-chan." What the fuck. Shirogane had said that everything was planned out, but… would Maki actually do this? Did he just not know her well enough?

"W-Wait, you're telling the truth?" "Yeah, I'm the Ultimate Assassin. I've killed." 

"Well, you haven't hurt anyone here, so I think you're still trustworthy! It was really brave of you to tell us, Makiroll!"

"M-Makiroll? ...Don't call me that…"

Shuichi nods to himself, untensing. Seems he's also decided to trust Maki despite her talent.

...Good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,621 words  
> So. I don't pre plan any of this story, even as I'm writing. Monokid is fuking dead, Maki revealed her talent for some reason, Tsumugi is regaining trust thanks to Kaede, Monokuma is extremely pissed off at Kokichi… yeah. And I really want to make Himiko more important, but I have no clue how to write her, so she's just sleeping in most of the scenes she's in.


	13. Motive pt. 2.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna skip chapter 4 and 5, but chapter 3 is too fun to skip :)

There isn't much to say about the rest of that day. They talked some more, then went into Kaede's room together. They slept, Kokichi ended up squished between those around him, Kaito as well this time, somehow, and they shuffled into breakfast. Not much to say about all of that day either, Kokichi mainly just fucked around. He's hung out with Gonta, he invaded Miu's lap for a half a second but instantly left because what was happening inside was not fit for his eyes, and hung around Himiko, Tenko, and Angie. The trio was being followed by the ghost trio, Painter, Aikido-Ko, and Seesaw. Eventually Piano and Sour Grape joined as well. Then he had a talk with Tsumugi, much less tense and serious then their talk before the first trial. The day after though? That's when things get slightly more interesting.

\----------------------------

Kokichi grumbles from where his head is resting on the table. The rest can't hear him, too busy arguing over who won some scavenger hunt prize. Kokichi hadn't participated, mostly hindering and annoying groups he didn't want to win and glaring at any ghosts trying to help.

Dirty cheaters.

Anyway, just as they finally surrendered to the rightful winner, Korekiyo, and things were calming down, Monokuma decided he needed to be there. He yelled surprise as he appeared. The reactions to him are always the same, yelling and screaming, some scrambling back in their chairs. The Monokubs cling tighter to their new parental figures, causing Miu to have a metal hand over her mouth to stop any comments.

"Wow, you guys sure are jumpy!"

"Wow, you sure are annoying!"

Monokuma glares at Kokichi, at this point he might forgo the possible audience and break the rules just to kill him. Kokichi wouldn't be surprised, but it would be very inconvenient and hurt a lot and he really doesn't want to start over after getting this far, if he does start over again.

"Well, despite how unbearably boring you all were, the motive is here to save my ass from it!" There's a tension in the air again. Kokichi sighs. "Here it is! The necronomicon!" 

"…" A ghostly laughter starts literally echoing. Kokichi has to suppress his own giggles. Rantaro looks at him weirdly.

"Ok ok! I know none of you have died, but this is all I have on such short notice! Besides, maybe some of you have family you'd like to see again, after all, who knows what's been happening to them outside." 

"Hmm… but with the way the necromonocon works-" "Necronomicon!" "Whatever, you gotta know the person is dead, and there's no second try. Look-" Kokichi grabs the book from Monokuma's paws and flips to the right page. Tsumugi looks confused, but not annoyed. She really is on his side then. He slaps the book down on the table, earning a shout from the only bitch left, and points to the instructions.

"This book has no right to be this big… this is really the only part that matters. Boom, ya gotta burn the book. It's really a waste." Then Kokichi fucks up… a little. A lot. He leans back a bit, eyes closed after proving his point and just. Let's Korekiyo grab the book.

"He's right, this is not only very authentic, but-" "Hey hey hey Korekiyo! Atua thinks Angie should hold onto the necromonocon!" "Necronamicon!" "Atua knows the dead like no other, and Angie is his prophet, thus I should hang onto it." Kokichi blinks at them. Fuck, he should probably stop this shouldn't he. He's not actually sure how to pull this off, both of them are quite stubborn and pushy. However, the second of hesitation cost him, as signaled by Angie laughing and the sound of rapid footsteps. Soon everyone starts chasing after Angie, Kokichi getting his collar caught by… Tenko? Tenko of all people drags him along after the group, calls him incompetent for making her drag him, and yanks him to his feet. Himiko, being held against her shoulder by her other arm, gets no such treatment. 

Kokichi stumbles into running so he isn't making Tenko drag him, Tank nodding in approval. Occult-Ko, ghost Korekiyo, has a distressed grimace on his face as he runs with them. Yay-chan looks around frantically before grabbing Tokyo MiuMiu and diving into the wall. A Bug's Life notices and chases after them. Eventually, some people start slowing down or even stopping for a breather, but those with higher stamina keep after them. Tenko has a high speed and stamina, Kokichi has high speed but isn't made for long runs, just short bursts. Shumai is near them, Kokichi and Himiko's added weight slowing Tenko down a little, and he still seems fine. Not very fast, but with a lot of running stamina then.

Kokichi's legs burn, feet aching from being forced to repeatedly slam into the ground. His breathing is most certainly not normal, cheeks red from the exertion. Occasionally, he trips over his own feet and Tenko has to haul him back into functioning. Soon, Angie's erratic running makes most of them lose her. She usually wouldn't be that fast probably, but it's something Atua related so she's going all out. Tenko stomps her foot in frustration, almost stepping on Kokichi's feet as she's still grabbing his collar and he has to be close in order to stand comfortably. Himiko sighs from where she's draped over her friend.

"Nyeh… That was a pain… why are we even chasing after her…?"

"She stole a motive Mage-Ko!" Tenko nearly drools as she uses Himiko's new nickname, "Who knows what nefarious things she'll do with it! We've managed to last so long without any deaths, we can't let her ruin it." 

Kokichi blinks. Right… the others must be just as desperate to avoid a death. Somehow, that slipped his mind despite often seeing their ghosts do everything they can think of to help. Rookie mistake when it comes to leading people. Normally he would try to analyze their body language and facial expression, but he's with Tenko at the moment. Considering the abuse he went through last time, he really doesn't want to provoke her at the moment. Or later to be honest.

"If only all the degenerate males hadn't gotten in the way, I could've caught her! Right, Ko-chan?" "Nyeh… sure." "But you carried me, does that mean I'm not a degenerate male? YAAAY TANK-CHAN TOLERATES ME!"

"T-Tank-chan? And you are a degenerate male! It's just that you wouldn't chase after the girls, so I accept you." Tenko looks off to the side, a weird angry pout on her face.

"Hmmmmmm? Whatchu mean by that?" Kokichi tilts his head, pressing a finger to his cheek, the picture of innocence. Tenko glares at him before muttering under her breath.

"You underestimate my gaydar…"

Oh. Yeah that makes sense. Her only problem with guys is that they're a threat to girls, and he's not a threat to girls, so he's safe? Weird logic but ok.

"So. What you're saying is, I'm acceptable because I'm gay?" "Yes." "Nyeh… that's kinda weird Aikido-Ko…"

"Mage-Ko, all I've seen you do the past few days is sleep. You're still tired. That's kinda weird." "I'm charging my mana, cuz I'm a mage." 

As Himiko talks, Kayayde comes back. The two Amiibos follow, one drooling in her sleep while leaning on the other. Seems Yay-chan used the bitch for a task. Tenko starts raving about Himiko's mage abilities, so Kokichi focuses on the ghost trio. Piano speaks up,  _ "Angie locked herself in her lab… We tried to unlock it but we still can't move things without being near you. You're officially the only person who can get her out, with the lock picking." _

Kokichi nods, then waits for Tenko to stop for even a second. Thankfully, it's rather quick as people still need to breathe. "Not sorry to interrupt but I was thinking, Angie's lab has a lock on the doors."

"Don't interrupt, degenerate!"

"We never left the school, and we're currently on the second floor. Basically, Angie locked herself in her lab!" Kokichi finishes with his arms tucked behind his head. His smile is wide, eyes closed as Tenko quiets down. Himiko tilts her head from side to side.

"But if the door is locked, how will we get inside?" "Well, obviously I can pick locks. You guys may not know my talent, but I sure do!" It's true, the Monopad marks his talent just like Rantaro's. Well, Kiiboy might have his talent filled in. He'll have to ask later… or maybe not that's pretty boring. Maybe he'll trick someone else into doing it somehow.

Tenko scoffs, "I doubt a male could have a talent like that and not use it for something nefarious. Like peeping! You're just lying again, I know it." Himiko tilts her head from side to side, thinking. 

"But… didn't you say…" "Peeping on the boys, Ko-chan." "Hey! Don't accuse me of such horrible behavior! I'll have you know that my organization has a strict no stalking rule. And a very important no cishets rule. Always remember the no cishets rule." 

Tenko sighs "Yeah, he's lying-"

"You're right! The no cishets rule isn't real. We only have one though, out of all of the ten thousand." "Talking to you is a pain… I'm tired…" 

"You're tired Himiko? I got you! Bye Ouma!" "Nyeh!?" Tenko grabs Himiko bridal style and starts running with her, both getting louder before quieting with the distance. Kokichi blinks at their shrinking bodies. That was… rather abrupt. He can't exactly go to Angie's lab alone, so he turns on his heel and walks out with his hands on his hips, palms pressed against his back. They're standing in the square path, so he starts walking in circles. Or squares technically. Round and round and round and round. After a few circles, Kiiboy interrupts.

_"Um, Kokichi?"_ "Hm?" Kokichi doesn't stop walking as he hums out a response. _"Why are you just… walking in circles?"_

"Nishishi~! Yeah you're right, this is boring!" Once he finishes his sentence, Kokichi books it down the hallway and nearly falls down the stairs again. That seems to be becoming a trend. RoboBitch borderline squawks as he speeds away, Invent-a-Bitch sighs, and PianoBitch squeeks. After a bit, he throws the doors open and laughs at the outside air, jumping overdramatically down the small stairs up to the door. Maki, who was about to walk inside, jumps backwards with an arm out to protect herself as he appears so suddenly. Her eyes narrow as he runs off, chased by ghosts she can't see.

\----------------------------

Kokichi sits in his room, looking at his whiteboard. He's updated it now, using his and the ghosts memories and new things that have happened. He hasn't gotten the chance to do that recently because of the whole 'sharing one room with everyone' thing. Basically, he added more detail to the past loop and continued the new one. All in the slightly changed code. He's not quite sure why, he knows the answer of who the mastermind is, she's on their side now, the only questions left are things that he can't really control, nor even influence. Our resident bug boy is sitting on his bed, kicking his feet and nearly hitting a living and confused Rantaro. Yeah, he's here by the way. Of course, Gonta hitting Rantaro would have no effect on him, but Kokichi wouldn't very much like the image. 

"Um, Kichi? What are you writing?" "My code, duh." Kokichi sticks out his tongue in concentration as he tries to remember what Korekiyo was doing the days before his trial. He wrote some down, but not nearly enough for him to be comfortable. Rantaro chuckles.

"Yeah I can see that, what does it say?" "It's my plan to take over the world, Ran-nii!" The survivor jolts, blinking with wide eyes. Ah, he hasn't heard that particular nickname yet, has he? Kokichi doesn't give any tells that he noticed the reaction, said reaction dissolving into a bittersweet yet fond smile. Just to sell it, he backs away for a second before kneeling on the ground and flipping the whiteboard over to the other side. This reveals… multiple cartoonish doodles he did while bored. There's a confident-looking Miu with far over exaggerated tits, Tenko running happily while holding Himiko over her head, Gonta with an undersized Ryoma and happy Angie on his shoulders, a few of Shumai that he spent an embarrassing amount of time on, etcetera etcetera. Most importantly, there's one of Rantaro lying on the ground while Kaede and Tsumugi stand above him, surprised.

Rantaro snorts out a laugh as he sees it, covering his mouth with his heavily decorated hand. And not just his rings, he has marker on his hand. Kokichi was bored with markers and Rantaro was an unsuspecting victim, it's simple to see what happened.

They spend time in there until Maki comes inside and threatens to kill him for scaring her, then dragging them into Kaede's room. It's an empty threat.

Angie isn't inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,182 words 
> 
> Someone asked me how the ghosts were able to lift Kokichi, so here's my answer if anyone else is confused but isn't going into the comments:
> 
> "They aren't actually affected by the gravity, it's just that they can touch things. Before, they were hovering just inside or just a few millimeters away from everything but could make themselves corporeal temporarily and it was exhausting (example, Kokichi needing a breather after the 5th trial). Kokichi didn't know at the time because he was a novice ghost, so he wasn't prepared.
> 
> The ghosts can still float while touching him, it's just that they can also touch other things."
> 
> This isn't really important, but I guess y'all like knowing how things work in this little AU.


	14. Sleeby Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is sleeby time. Sleeby Bois. Night time, sleeby.

Kokichi blinks his eyes open. They had gone through the nightly ritual of playing card games together until everyone arrived and a bit after before heading to sleep as some arrive really late. It must be either really early, or near midnight. He's so tired, he wants to just fall asleep. Sadly, he's noticed something. Not only is he absolutely squished once more, another nightly tradition as people have stopped questioning it, but Shuichi's breathing is irregular. Not nightmare irregular, but awake irregular. Kokichi keeps completely still, breathing even and body untense despite all the people surrounding him on all sides.

Shuichi is slowly carding his fingers through Kokichi's hair, tapping his other hand softly on his back to the tune of the song they all sang together. He's even humming it under his breath. Ok. He's being petted and he is being hugged against his chest. And that's ignoring the people behind him and on him. Himiko is lying against his legs, clinging to Tenko, who is snuggled with Kiibo, who has an arm thrown over Kaede. That's what he managed to see by barely cracking his eyes open. Shuichi still hasn't noticed, he would've reacted in a very specific way if he did.

Oh yeah, Rantaro is still on the bed. Seems Kaito managed to vault over Kaede in his sleep again as he's on the bed with him once more. The sleeping spots are more of guidelines at this point, hardly followed exactly. It's supposed to be Himiko, then Tenko, Then Kokichi, then Shumai, then the bed. Below them directly is Kiibo, under the bed is Kaede, below her is Kaito, next to her, on the other side of the bed, is Kirumi. Kiibo, Kaede, Kirumi, and Kaito, all lay the long way so they can fit more people at the foot of the bed.

...Kiibo, Kaede, Kirumi, Kaito, Kokichi… that's a lot of K names. Kuichi sounds funny. Kenko, Kimiko, Kiu...

Shuichi shifts slightly, bringing him out of his very distracted thoughts. He blinks, and internally curses when he feels Shuichi tense and draw back a little, fingers immediately halting and starting to slowly draw away. Which he didn't want. Being pet feels nice. After panicking for a split second that happened to also be a year, he moved his head forward quickly. This practically shoves Shuichi's hand back onto his head, and absolutely confirms that he's awake. 

_Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-_

Shuichi cautiously starts carding his fingers through Kokichi's hair again. They lay there in silence for a few seconds. Kokichi, however, is the master of making up conversation topics on the fly.

"Ouma…?" Or maybe Shumai will beat him to it. Strange.

"Hm?" His voice isn't nearly as quiet as Shumai's, he knows no one will wake up except maybe Maki, who's on the other side of the bed. She'll hear them talking and probably just go back to sleep though. Shuichi doesn't register this and tenses after he speaks.

"P-please whisper…" "Only because you said please." Shuichi smiles, untensing as no one reacts visibly or verbally. 

"Thanks… Maki said earlier that you scared her half to death. Well, not explicitly but it was implied. What did you do?"

Kokichi smiles in an overly innocent way, "I reached into Kaito's stomach and pulled his guts out through his belly button, duh." 

Shuichi startles before common sense comes back in. "That's a lie, right?" The smile becomes more real at the familiar question. It shouldn't even be a question, Kaito was likely there as Maki said this, but this is Shumai talking so it's to be expected.

"Yeppers!" Whispering while exclaiming, the real ultimate talent. "I threw open the door and nearly took her face off by running through it at full speed. I'm very fast you know. But that's a lie, I'm actually really slow. Slower than Himiko!" "No, you and Tenko easily outpaced me… and so did most of the class…" 

"Now I won't stand for that lie! I hate liars, so you can't be one of them because you're my favorite detective."

They chuckle together, in the dark, surrounded by sleeping bodies. Somewhere, someone shifts over to their other side. Miu cuddles a Monokub tighter while the others lay around her, Tenko brushes her face in Kiibo's unsurprisingly soft and actually human hair, Ryoma sits propped up against Gonta, Kaito starts hugging poor Rantaro like a teddy bear, the sound of a group of living teenagers breathing deeply fills the air in the absence of conversation. No deaths, unless you count Rantaro being suffocated by Kaito, but he seems fine. No executions, no deaths, if you ignore the ghosts sitting around. It seems they've come up with a rotation to make sure no one kills, so most of them are actually asleep. Their breaths are unnecessary, but still drifting through the air. 

Kokichi takes a deep breath, feeling and hearing Shuichi do the same. They're… Not all alive. He couldn't save anyone the first time through, but now? Most of them are alive.

"...Are they in here?" "Who?" "The ghosts." "...Yeah, they've been doing a lot to make sure nothing happens, so they're tired. Most are asleep."

Shuichi lets out another deep breath. Was that another thing he was worrying about? Is it the ghosts watching over them or the ghosts getting enough sleep? Wait, for that he'd have to know that goes sleep, which most people don't. In fact, everyone but Kokichi doesn't know for absolute sure. Way to feel alienated even more. 

"Good… I'm glad they aren't just boredly wandering around or constantly working." 

Kokichi smiles, closing his eyes as he focuses on the warmth from Himiko and Shuichi. There's another small silence before Kokichi speaks, "Why does no one mention the giant group cuddling?"

Shuichi chokes a little, responding once recovered. "W-Well I think… they're either completely fine with it or really embarrassed. Seems the people here are only ever the extremes…"

_Me too, right? Yeah._

"Not at all! We're the most normal and mellow group of people you'll ever meet." Shuichi chuckles, voice trailing off. His breathing is slowly evening out. "That's… a lie, right?" His voice is heavy with sleep. Seems Kokichi managed to tire out the insomniac, very impressive.

He lays there as Shuichi nods off, fingers still stuck in Kokichi's hair. He listens to the breathing around him, matching out his own on purpose. Soon, he also drifts off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1,071 words  
> :) Sleeby Bois


	15. Giving Shumai some deserve love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just. Love him? So. Let's put most of a chapter that's very important in his POV. :)

_ Kokichi smiles as he hops out of his window. Outside, like always, is 2#6!¢#!. Kokichi waves back to their enthusiastic greeting. He does a weird jog-skip until they're right next to each other. They smile at him, or maybe they have been the whole time. It's weird, knowing someone genuinely cares about him. _

\----------------------------

Shuichi blinks his eyes open slowly. Gosh, waking up isn't fun. And his arm hurts. Looking around… it's still pretty early. Only a few people are awake which is… Not normal. Usually, he's one of the last people awake. And his shoulder is still nearly touching his neck as his hand stays lightly touching Ouma's hair, who seems to be asleep for real this time. Seems none of the few awake have noticed, so he starts carefully untangling his fingers from the smaller boy's scalp. There's a small, quiet whine and Ouma shifts, once again forcing Shuichi's hand back onto his head. Shuichi blinks, taking his hand away completely. Ouma seems to pout in his sleep, shifting closing again so they're basically face-to-chest. Himiko also shifts so she doesn't fall off his legs, which causes Tenko to move away from Kiibo so she doesn't lose her.

Shuichi closes his eyes again, he's still too tired for being alive today. He'll wake up later when most people are awake.

Sadly, it seems some people like teasing him, as his arm gets moved back to Kokichi's hair while he sleeps. 

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi smiles as he hops out of his window. Outside… is empty. There's no one on the sidewalk. His smile falls, where… Did they leave him? Was he abandoned? No, no. He… His friend wouldn't do that to him. No. They said… they said they wouldn't. _

\----------------------------

Shuichi opens his eyes again. He's immediately met with purple eyes staring at him with betrayal. They keep eye contact for a bit, Shuichi's eyes occasionally darting away. The room is… empty?

"You tried to move your hand." "...Sorry?" "Shumai haaaaatesssss meeeee!" "A-Ah… I'm sorry?"

"If you want me to forgive you then you must beg!" "H-" "But that's a lie! I would never force Shumai-” Kokichi says more things, some innuendos that he probably isn't being serious about while Shuichi desperately tries to say absolutely anything. 

"Aaaaanyway~ everyone else already left, felt like they should go to the dining hall before the morning announcement and let us sleep for some weird reason."

_ You wouldn't know that if you were also asleep… felt… ah. _

"Did you make the ghosts tell them to leave?" "Nishishi! My beloved detective is so smart! But not as smart as me~ to the dining hall, Shumai!"

_ He's certainly in a playful mood today.  _

\----------------------------

Shuichi stumbles a little as Kokichi drags him into the dining hall, once again making their entrance big and over dramatic. They sit down, only seats available being right next to each other. Shuichi immediately starts zoning out once he sits down. A lot of things have happened and he hasn't properly processed really any of it. The fact that they're in a killing game is really the only thing. Akamatsu had tried to kill someone… he'ss accepted that. Ouma, the slightly distant and mysterious liar had been the whole reason they knew she hadn't, and they uncovered the mastermind. Shirogane had wanted to show them the mastermind room right after the trial, as a way to make up for it, but her rights were already taken away, and the other secret entrance in the bathroom was completely blocked off with giant boulders that would take hours to move. Ouma had been asleep for that. In fact, had anyone even told him? Probably not.

"Heeey Shumai~! Can you tell the dirty bitch that I'm not an attention whore?" 

Shuichi blinks at Ouma, finding him with his legs once again thrown over the taller boy's lap. He can feel his cheeks start to burn at the proximity, but tries to ignore it unsuccessfully. Looking up, he finds Iruma looking back at them with a questioning expression that still manages to give off trumpet player vibes.*

"He's… probably not. That. Maybe touch starved at most." "Probably!? YOU THINK I MIGHT BE AN ATTENTION WHORE!? WAAAAAAAAAAHH! YOU'RE SO MEEEAAAANNN!" Ouma does absolutely nothing to disprove his other claim, making it more probable by draping himself over Shuichi's shoulder to fake cry.

Iruma rolls her eyes, but is interrupted by Kiibo pouting at her for arguing and leaning on her until she stops. Monosuke assists by tugging on her leg, Monotaro taps on her other one. She flushes and quickly looks down at her lap to fiddle with her hands. Shirogane laughs at their antics, prompting Akamatsu to also dissolve into giggles. Harukawa rolls her eyes from next to them, Momota happily slams his palm into poor Amami's back, who winces and tries to cover it with a smile. Gokuhara and Yanaga both get down to Hoshi's level and excitedly talk to him and each other. Chabashira kicks her feet and talks while Yumeno eats, Shinguji and Tojo talk about different foods around the world.

Shuichi smiles to himself, bringing up a hand to idly pat Ouma's back while he loudly sobs into his ear. The second he touches the smaller boy, his tears stop and he leans back far enough to rest his head on the floor, hair spreading out around him, shirt slightly riding up to reveal his stomach. "Shuuuuuumai… I'm boooooored." Shuichi raises an eyebrow down at him, despite Ouma being unable to see him. He can't exactly think of anything to say that isn't awkward or weird, but he also doesn't want there to be an awkward silence. Thankfully, Ouma speaks back up, "Nothing here is interesting, especially since The Two Amiibos are here."

"The… The what?" "The robot and the robot fucker!" "A-Ah…" "Hey! I can hear you, ass!"

Ouma only laughs at Iruma, springing himself back up and launching himself from the table. Once again, he snags Shuichi's hand on the way and drags him outside. The second they're alone, his demeanor changes entirely from joking and teasing to serious. Shuichi simply follows, waiting for him to say what's on his mind.

"Angie most likely locked herself in her room, probably going to attempt using the necromonocon tonight." "Ah, that's what I was thinking too…" "It's a near perfect crime, but there's one thing Angie doesn't know. I can pick locks. How else do you think I gathered everyone for the sleepover?"

_ That would make the most sense, her lab has two doors, both with locks. If someone tried to break down one of her doors, she could escape through the other. She's expecting something big and hard to miss, but lock picking is the opposite of that. It would be quite easy to take her by surprise and maybe even make her give up the necromonocon. We've managed to avoid deaths for this long, but that could be broken at any moment. According to what I've been able to decipher from a few of the ghosts, it's a miracle that we've gotten so far. Maybe they're victims of a previous killing game? That would explain why there's eleven of them, meaning four survivors. Unless other killing games had different amounts of students. Either way, we have been extremely lucky.  _

_ … Eleven isn't much of a leap from ten thousand. You just round it off and add a few zeros. Are the ghosts his organization? That sounds lonely, but there's still no explanation for why he can see them. _

"Yeah, but someone has recently gone through and stolen everything I could've used for lock picking. Even the shit I put in my hair!" "...Harumaki? She brushed your hair, so." "Probably, she sees me as a threat! So mean!" 

_ "...and the little gremlin already knows, so…" _

"I mean… apparently you already knew her real talent. And she knew that you knew, which means you either heavily implied it or told her outright. It's reasonable for her to distrust you." 

Kokichi pouts up at Shuichi. "I only noticed this morning, cuz I wanted to break in, but now I have another plan! The necromonocon, you need to burn the book."

Shuichi perks up slightly, back straightening, "There's nothing to light a fire with in her lab. She would need to leave her room in order to use it."

"Yep yep yep! And that means~ we can stalk outside her lab until she comes out!"

\----------------------------

"Um, Ouma? Wouldn't this be easier if we both stood by one door?" "But it would be boring if I couldn't talk to my favorite detective! Besides, we don't really have to be there. In fact, we can just stand here and will still know when the other door opens. Besides, if we split up, one could be completely unaware when she comes out." "...Ok."

\----------------------------

For a while Ouma and Shuichi just sit there. On the floor, staring at a door they can't open anymore. At one point, Ouma starts telling an extravagant and exaggerated story, complete with him waving his arms around. He doesn't move from his spot though, but that's probably because Shuichi has been idly leaning on him and is actually pretty close to falling back asleep.*

\---------------------------- 

_ Shuichi shivers as he grabs his uncle's hand. The older, worried man easily lifts his young body off the floor. His hands are covered in dried blood, coming from a few days old scratches, his stomach hurts worse than anything he's ever felt, his eyes are red and puffy, yet tired. His uncle holds him tightly, helping the boy who hardly had enough strength to call for help loud enough for him to hear. _

_ Sirens are blaring, blaring so loudly that Shuichi can't hear himself think. Can he even think? His head is cloudy, he might be sick. In fact, he's probably sick. There's screams, not of fear, but rage. It's weird, all he's ever heard is cold, calculating anger. Rage? That's completely new. It's scary. _

_ The small boy, not even ten years old, loses consciousness against his uncle's chest, held tightly in his arms. _

\----------------------------

Shuichi snaps his eyes open to a bowl of rice and some soup being held in front of his face. He blinks some of the sleep out of his eyes, and grabs them from Ouma. "...When'd you get these…?"

"Mommy came over and brought them! Weird how she knew we'd be here, huh. Nishishi~!"

"Ah, I'll have to thank her later… and the ghosts that absolutely told her." 

_ "You're welcome!" _

Unlike Ouma's dreams, this one has already fallen right back out of his head. However, after eating, he falls right back asleep again.

\----------------------------

_ Shuichi sighs as he walks out of the building. He used the back door, as it's closer to the nearest store. After a second, his ears catch something. Yelling? Did a deal go wrong or something, maybe a sore loser lost a bet? He swivels his head around in order to possibly catch what's going on, and stops in his tracks. There's a small boy being held up against the wall. His eyes flash red, and suddenly he's running. _

_ He got a small scrape on his arm that day, but he also made a friend. Saving that boy is something he'll never regret. He'll protect him. Who? ~0~!¢#!, 08^!062/5. _

_ Somehow, the dream twists, but that's normal. It isn't, but it's a dream so he doesn't notice anything. This dream is… blurry. He can't make out faces. Or is it just his eyes? Yeah, most likely. His head feels heavy, and his legs are dragging on the floor. He's being carried around by his arms. This doesn't… feel right. Something's wrong. _

\----------------------------

His sudden adrenaline rush combined with being shaked with what felt like 24 hands is what wakes him up again. He lets out a sharp gasp, looking around frantically before meeting Kokichi's eyes. He didn't have time to say anything before Ouma smiled at him, but it was tense.

"I'm tired of waiting, let's patrol again!"

_ Aka, we need to go to the other door, now. I think, translating him is getting easier though. _

Shuichi nods, grabbing Ouma's hands and pulling himself up. The purple boy takes off running, arms thrown behind him as he lets out a laugh. Seems he's trying to disguise his intentions… but why? Shuichi already knows them. Unless he's trying to hide them from someone else...

Shuichi lets out a small, tense laugh and chases after him. He's not exactly the Ultimate Actor. Kokichi frowns for a split second as he turns the corner towards the three small rooms, right as Shuichi could see him. 

_ "Go faster!"  _ "I'm  _ trying. _ " Shuichi grunts out a response before putting on a burst of speed to try and catch up to Ouma. The boy laughs like they're just playing another game before throwing the door open and freezing. Shuichi nearly stumbles into him and takes a few deep breaths before looking inside.

Inside, Shinguji is kneeling next to an unmoving Yanaga.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,174 words  
> *Explanation for the trumpet player joke because I'm in band at school and have no clue if other people not in a band will understand: trumpet players have a joke where they introduce themselves by saying "Hi, I'm better than you."
> 
> *Ironically, I wrote that at midnight and then immediately passed out. 
> 
> The code in Shuichi's dream is just me trying to help those who haven't figured out how to decode it yet. In other news, school. We are reading Romeo and Juliet, as you do, and we got a project to make/buy a masquerade mask base and then decorate it. (Someone tried to buy a pre-decorated one and got a 0 and left school crying, today) so I've been a bit busy? Sorry?


	16. Angie isn't dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I promise.  
> Also, writing this chapter made me realize that I don't know how to write Korekiyo, so my Korekiyo kinnie friend had to help me with a bit of his dialogue. Before you ask, they're probably not ok and also really good at psychoanalyzing people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw maybe? Blood, throwing up, losing consciousness for a few seconds... If those things trigger you, stop reading when Kokichi leaves to go investigate the other rooms. I can give a summary at the end.

Shuichi blinks at him, but Shinguji's pose isn't exactly incriminating. He's just kneeling beside her and slightly bending over her.

"Ah, Saihara, Ouma. What are you doing here? Didn't you already thoroughly investigate these rooms?" "Um. Is Yanaga ok?" "Yes, she still has a pulse. Before you walked in, I had been just about to stand and fetch everyone. In fact, perhaps you both could accompany me?" "Nah, I'll stay here and investigate her totally-not-dead body! Shumai, you can follow totally-not-the-attacker."

_ I… can? Can… he won't attack me? Is that what you're trying to tell me? _

_ "Korekiyo only attacks girls!" _

_ Oh. Only girls? Ok… that's… weird. _

Shinguji nods, "Come on then, Saihara." "A-Ah, ok!" "Bye-bye Shumai! I'll miss you!"

The door closes behind the two, making everything else Ouma called to them too muffled to understand.

\----------------------------

Kokichi sits in the silence for a good few seconds after he stops yelling, taking deep breaths to force the memories of Angie's dead body out of his head. This is very different but… he almost thought he was too late. Unsurprisingly, Rocky is the first to speak. "...Sidekick, what do we do now?" "First of all, I am absolutely not your sidekick. Second of all, I'm pretty sure my plan worked and Angie isn't dead, Spaceman." 

Piano rests a hand on his shoulder, feet tapping the floor, "Yeah, can you actually explain the plan? You just told us to tell you when Angie leaves, which kinda failed because it was so difficult to wake Shuichi up from his nightmare…"

"Well, if you insist… I didn't have a plan! It was a lie." "Kokichi, even I know that's a lie, and I hardly hung around you." "Aww, you flatter me, Shortie. And you're right! I did have a plan, but the first one is void so I'll only explain the second. I ran down the halls, stomping and laughing loudly so Korekiyo would hear me and panic, not having enough time to kill her and get out, he would have to keep her alive and play innocent. Now, Shuichi can interrogate him, I don't have to talk to him, and I can tell Shumai what I know about the body, acting like I had figured it out while in here! It was improvised, but it worked." Kokichi smiles, hands behind his head as he starts walking inside, coming to a stop at Angie's unconscious body.

"...Heeey, Monokuma?" 

Immediately, the monochrome clear appears. "Hm? Oh, it's you…" "Yeah, Yeah. Anyway, you're going to try and force us to investigate Angie's attack, aren't you." 

"Yep yep! You will all have to figure out who knocked her out, so thaaat means…" Monokuma vanishes, the tv clicking on with the signature " _ Ding dong, bing bong!" _ for the first time in a few days. Even the night time and morning announcements hadn't played. Instead of the Monokubs couch, it's more of a throne. Monokuma sits on top of it, swirling something alcoholic around in a glass. "Well would you look at that! Someone took an object to the head! Are they dead from their attacker? Are they merely unconscious? Find out in the empty room on the fourth floor!"

The tv blips off, Kokichi adjusts the floor under Angie to be just a bit more obviously tampered with. It's a little strange to tamper with evidence so directly which is so important, but that's basically what he did during Tsumugi's trial. He thinks back on the first time. Two out of the three rooms had blood in them, one holding his own, the other holding Angie and Tenko's. This time, the board has a lot less blood on it. None, actually. She was hit on the back of the head, as opposed to the first time where she was hit on the forehead. Seems like she was just bonked kinda hard. Are they… really going to have a class trial for this? Really? It's going to be so incredibly short. Maybe he's desperate? Yeah, probably desperate.

Kokichi sighs, sitting next to the unconscious girl. Time to start planning.

\----------------------------

Shuichi walks down the hall with Shinguji, awkward silence lingering in the air. It certainly feels like they aren't alone, so that helps. Shuichi sort of wishes he could see them, or feel the hand on his shoulder that he's unaware of. 

"So, Saihara. I believe that you have recently become closer to those already passed. It's strange, I know how… difficult. It is to establish a communication with the dead, so I have a question… how did you do it?"

"I-I don't get what you mean…"

"Well, it's quite simple. You have multiple ghosts following you around near constantly. I have noticed you tend to whisper yourself.. are you responding to them, perhaps? Though it seems you can't fully hear them yet, more like you're training yourself to figure it out. You seem to trust them so unconditionally, yet most that can speak to the dead that I've encountered are extremely distrustful. I wonder.. you must've been close to them in life to trust them so incredibly much, yes? Kehehe, if I were able to study them better, I would love to try and guess how you knew them… observing you is incredibly interesting. However, even I cannot make out what they look like, only their pose. Their voices are also impossible for me to make out."

Shuichi tenses. Shinguji had always said he could see ghosts, but he didn't think he was being serious. There was always that flicker of doubt, which has now been proven true. "You-" "Ah, but the most interesting is undoubtedly Ouma. He is most certainly not normal. He looks similar to a person possessed, but not the same. I've never seen it before, even with all my experience… All I can tell is that he can both see and hear them, but only the group of ten ghosts. My beloved Sister has tried to interact with him, but neither he or the other ghosts react to her presence. It's almost as if he is a ghost, but he obviously isn't. Though, I haven't had much of a chance to interact with him. It's almost as though he's avoiding me."

"...Ten? But… there's eleven." "Only if you count Kokichi. I know how many there are, they all join us during the breakfast meetings and the group sleepovers. Ironically, all of them seem to leave me alone, which might change now that I've revealed myself to those following you currently."

Shuichi takes a deep breath, putting a hand up to his collarbone. For some reason, it makes him feel less alone. "Y-You're right. I can't see, or really hear them that much. The only reason I even can do that much is because Ouma told me about them…"

_ "He's… he's wrong." "Kokichi is the twelfth!" "Can he… not see me?" _

"Hm? Just then, two of them interrupted you, and you instantly ceased talking. I believe you're much better at hearing them than you think. At first, did they nearly sound like one word? Maybe a single unified idea, or place? Do they now sound like full sentences? Are you starting to hear the differences in voices or tones?"

"I've always been able to hear their tones but… yeah. You're right. Except for one thing… Shinguji, three of them interrupted me."

Shinguji stops and turns to look at him. "Are you implying that there is one I cannot see?" "There is currently…"  _ "Five." _ "Five of them following us, how many can you see?"

Shinguji puts a hand to where his lips would be on his mask, eyes staring at Shuichi before flittering around him. "I… can only see four. Are you messing with me, Saihara?" 

Unbeknownst to both men in the hallway, Korekiyo stands there with wide eyes. Tenko scoffs while Angie smiles at him. Miu and Gonta stand nearby, one rolling her eyes, the other blinking in confusion.

_ "Look at the bright side! This means he doesn't know you've been trying to suggest to him! Ah, but but but… does that mean he cannot hear the suggestions?" "No, I believe he can. He must just be… unaware of me, such as a normal person." "I say it doesn't matter! He just attacked Angie! He's an utter degenerate!" "Can y'all stop fucking talking!? You're going to distract Dickcheese more than my hot body ever did with all your yammering!" "G-Gonta sorry…" "Not you!" _

Shuichi listens as they talk, but one is too quiet for him to hear. Shinguji is also listening. "...I believe you may be right. I still cannot make out what they are saying, but there was a strange and unnatural pause in the conversation. So, there is one that I am not even aware of? Interesting… the fact that you and Ouma can hear the missing dead implies that you are much stronger than me… so I repeat. How did you do it?"

"I don't actually… know. I had noticed how red Ouma's face was, and he told me that they were teasing him. He talked a bit more, but then one of them ruffled my hair, and another helped me fix it. One kicked the door open, and they helped me find him once. That's all I can name off the top of my head…"

Shinguji keeps staring at Shuichi, hand over his general mouth area. "They… touched you? And interacted with the environment?" "Yeah… at one point they poked Akamatsu on the arm, and according to Ouma, delayed Shirogane so she was late to attacking Amami."

"...How interesting… I've encountered so many new things since coming here. I shall not interfere, but I will also not participate in whatever you shall do. I am merely an observer after all."

_ Ding dong, bing bong! _

Shuichi jumps as the monitor flicks to life, making the familiar chime. That sound usually means that the Monokubs are about to say something, but they've been with Miu and Kiibo for days now.  _ "Well would you look at that! Someone took an object to the head! Are they dead from their attacker? Are they merely unconscious? Find out in the middle empty room on the fourth floor!" _

Shuichi puts the side of his finger to his bottom lip as the announcement finishes. "Why did that take so long…" "Well, we didn't get very far from the room. Might as well just head back to avoid suspicion."

It's true, they're standing on the stairs down to the third floor. Shuichi coughs awkwardly and walks back up the stairs, leaving Korekiyo to follow behind him. All his instincts are screaming at him to not turn his back on an attempted murderer, but he ignores it in favor of making himself look oblivious and trusting the ghosts.

\----------------------------

Ouma perks up as Shuichi and Shinguji walk inside. Shuichi internally let's out a sigh of relief, being alone with him knowing he tried to kill someone isn't fun. Shuichi sits next to Ouma, getting a bright smile for his troubles. Shinguji stands against the wall on the other side of Yanaga. There's a small, awkward silence before the door slams open. Akamatsu is the first inside, she stops and has to take a double take from the casual scene. Just three dudes sitting around an unconscious girl, not suspicious or incriminating at all. Everyone else arrives as she starts speaking.

"Is-is she ok?" "Oh, yeah. She's just drunk." "W-What?" "That's a lie! She got hit on the head, that's what Monokuma said, riiight?"

"Cut the bullshit and tell these dumbasses if there's a fucking dead body or not!" "D-Don't worry, she's alive-" "Monomonobear is still making us investigate and hold a trial though." 

There's a big groan, multiple people leaning on each other, Yumeno just flops right on the floor in defeat. Even Gokuhara sighs, Iruma slams her palm into the wall, Akamatsu buries her face in her arms, Momota's arms fall to his sides limply and he stares at the ceiling while Amami sympathetically pats his back. Of course, previously mentioned 'Monomonobear' chooses that moment to pop up and complain.

"Well, excuse me for wanting a little excitement! You've all been so boring, with your sleepovers and friendships and protecting each other bullshit! So I'm taking this chance and milking it for all it's worth. Trial is whenever the fuck I feel like it!"

He vanishes, leaving the classmates to regret everything. Hoshi sighs, walking forward to the opposite wall from the door. "Well, I'm no good at investigating. I'll leave this to the competent people." "Gonta no good either, so Gonta keep Hoshi company!" 

\----------------------------

Kokichi springs up from the floor, an order smiling widely. "Well, someone can investigate her lab, I'mma go and investigate the other empty rooms!" "A-Ah, bye?"

Kokichi laughs as he dodges everyone and steps through the door, pushing Miu further inside with a kick to the back and closing the door. Based on the sounds inside, she fell. Her ghost glares at him, but he just smiles innocently at her and goes to check the other rooms, like he said. First, the room farthest from the stairs. Going inside, he walks to the center of the room and tests the floorboards. All solid, Korekiyo never got time to cut them in that room, considering he was cutting up the middle room when Angie interrupted. Make sense, but he just wanted to make sure. He starts mumbling a song under his breath as he leaves, walking past the middle door to the only remaining room.

He pushes the door open and takes a deep breath in between the first verse and the bridge. Time to do something stupid. He pokes around again, the few ghosts not helping the others watching him in confusion, but not interrupting his song. Finally, he reaches the middle of the room, right where the missing floorboard is. Unlike the last loop, where he had just stepped down on the seesaw normally, he stomps down on it. His head painfully collides with the floor. He might've pulled a muscle in his leg when he fell backwards, through the hole created by the seesaw, leaving it the only thing up there.

He lays there, eyes half closed with pain and blood spilling into them, leg up like he's trying to do gymnastics, fallen through the floor. 

_ Oh… gosh everything- that. Hurts. I can't… see. Blood. Ghosts? Must be… worried. Can't hear, ringing ringing ringing… gotta get up. Get up… throw up? Not now, maybe later… spin… spin… it feels like… ow. Did I hit the floor… harder? Shouldn't… have stomped… maybe… yeah… Kayayde is gonna kill me... _

After a few seconds, his eyes go black and he loses consciousness. He's shaken awake after a few moments, his throat burns and he quickly tries to scoot back, a lost cause considering he's on the seesaw, and throws up over the side. The food burns his throat, tears springing into his already full eyes. Blood and water run down his face, and it occurs to him that his leg was brought down too. He's only having a few thoughts per minute, you gotta cut him some slack. 

"Gotta… get up." "Kokichi, what the FUCK were you thinking!" 

He grimaces at the voice, shrinking back at the loudness. Too loud, his ears are still ringing but at least it's not absorbing all sound anymore. Like the sound of his blood dripping off the plank. 

"Help. Stand." Kokichi puts his arms up, making grabby hands for help. He's quickly grabbed and hauled out of the hole, the sudden movement making him instantly drop to his hands and knees to lose his breakfast. He takes deep breaths as he pushes himself to the side, rolling a little so he's farther away from the puddle that's slowly dripping through the floor. Hey, that's what his blood is doing to! How cool… next thing you know, his blood will fuse with the building and make it so he can control it with just a thought!

Knowing vaguely that there's nothing more in his stomach, he takes deep breaths to try and calm everything. His head burns, like someone took an axe to his forehead. Or maybe he put a wooden plank through his own forehead. That's basically what happened after all. He reaches up and wipes at his eyes, covering his hands in slick blood. He finally opens them despite the stinging and is greeted by blurriness.

_ Ok… I can work with this. _

All he could think about was how the feeling of blood was starting to get very, very familiar.

\----------------------------

Shuichi tilts his head from side to side. He's already finished going through everyone's alibi's, Harukawa helped determine that the wound is extremely recent, and this is seeming like the most open and shut case ever. Maybe that's because he knew from the second he first walked inside, but still. Iruma and Shirogane were hanging out in the former's lab. The Monokubs aren't tall enough, and are really tired of violence. Plus, they don't exactly have a motive. Kiibo was with Gokuhara and Hoshi, Akamatsu was with Harukawa, Tojo, Chabashira, and Yumeno were together, Momota had practically kidnapped Amami, and him and Ouma were together the whole day. Seriously, the only person without an alibi is Shinguji. 

It's… simple.

"Hey, Saihara. I checked under the floorboards while you were going around for alibis, the one that Angie is laying on is off. Like someone had taken it out and put it back incorrectly. The size and shape is consistent with the discoloration on her head. There was also a loud thud coming from the room next door, but I doubt that's as important."

"Well, even if it isn't, we should probably go check what happened, right?"  _ Didn't Ouma say he was investigating the other rooms? _

"Sure."

Shuichi nervously nods to himself, walking over to the door. Harukawa throws it open with no regard to the people next to it and gives him a full view of the hallway. He freezes. "Ouma!?" "It's a… lie… ugh…"

He lifts a hand, waving at them before trying to lift himself up. He succeeds, only barely not slipping on the small puddle beneath him. He smiles at them, like everything is fine and he isn't covered in blood. "Aww, don't- don't pass out now, Shumai!" His smile suddenly stiffens, growing tighter as his shoulders and stomach tense. "This is real blood, by the by… you should check…" He trails off, eyes staring shut as he slaps his hands over his mouth. He collapses back down to the floor and throws up, pushing himself up with deep breaths as Harukawa and Shuichi stand there, frozen. He finally opens his eyes, obviously trying to look at them but failing miserably. His eyes flit around them, not quite able to see exactly where they are.

Finally, Shuichi darts forward, standing in front of him. He doesn't touch him, who knows how he would react. "K-Kokichi! What happened?"

Instead of responding, the smaller boy points to the other door, definitely the one it happened in as there's a trail of blood coming from that room. Judging from Harukawa's face, that's the room she heard the thud coming from. She walks over and cautiously, slowly, rests a hand on his shoulder. Ever so carefully leading him away to the first aid kit in the kitchen. It's only a few hours before dinner would normally happen, so it's still open. Strange, this feels like it should be happening later. Around midnight, or one in the morning.

Shuichi takes a deep breath and opens the door, having to do a double take at the sheer amount of mess. One of the floorboards is resting against it's beam at an angle, halfway through the floor, and is drenched in blood. There's a puddle that looks suspiciously like lunch that he nearly steps in, with a small puddle of blood next to it. On the floor, there's even more extremely concerning things. Looks like Ouma is going to be out of commission for a bit…

Shuichi closes the door. There's nothing else to investigate, really. Now he just has to… wait. Wait for the trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,371 words  
> Also: Lia, if you're still reading this, I miss you
> 
> Summary: Kokichi does a fuck up and hts his head too hard, Shuichi and Harukawa find him in a hallway again, Maki leads him to the first aid kit, and Shuichi goes to see what happened to him. It's not pretty.


	17. Trial bitch!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am still not good at writing trials… so time to bullshit my way through it again. Korekiyo kinnie friend coming in clutch to help me with sister ^v^

_ Shuichi heads through the gate, blinking a little after his new friend. The street he's walking down now is the same one Shuichi usually walks down. However, his uncle asked him to go to the store, so they have to separate. He didn't exactly get to go to the store during school, so he'll just have to go now. _

_ The next morning, he walks a bit later than usual. After a few minutes of reluctantly walking, a purple head starts walking past him. He gasps, matching his friend's pace. "Oh, hello again. It’s really nice to see you today too." He smiles at his friend, gaining himself that bright yet shy smile again. Walking in through the gates, he notices people staring at his friend. He glares at them, why are they so mean to him? He did  _ nothing _. Protectively, he grabs his friend's hand. Shuichi has a reputation for this, they won't mess with his friend while he's here.  _

_ Yesterday probably helped too actually. _

_ Suddenly, everything starts going white. There's a small splotch of blue, but it's quickly swallowed by purple. _

\----------------------------

_ Ding dong, bing bong! _

_ Click. _

"It's trial time bitches! Get your asses to the statue in the courtyard, or face the consequences. What are the consequences, you ask? Murder is always the answer! Death, death, murder, murder. Puhuhuhu… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~"

\----------------------------

"Ugh, this is going to be boring." "Ouma, why is your head bandaged?" "I wanted to match Angie, so the obvious answer is to give myself a head wound, Kayayde!" "Or wear a bikini like the gay virgin you are!" "If you think I wouldn't absolutely  _ rock _ a bikini, you're wrong." "...I really didn't need that image." "WAAAAAAAAAAHH, Ryonya doesn't like meeeee! So rude!"

\----------------------------

The elevator is silent. Well. Except for the fact that it's an old ass elevator that won't stop making noise. Kokichi stands behind Shuichi, as he always does. It's just like the gym, unspoken spots. The ghosts are in the elevator with them, standing next to their living counterparts. They're also in those unspoken spots, on a specific side of the other.

The elevator stops, doors opening and forcing them all to listen to Monokuma's instant monologuing. "Fina-fuckin-ly! We haven't been down here in forever! God, I missed this place, and yet, the victim isn't even dead. The must be the most  _ disappointing _ killing game in history, I'm going to be a laughing stock! Sigh… well, at least we're here now. Time to get started! I'm guessing you all still remember the rules, cuz I don't feel like explaining them."

As he talks, they all stand at their podiums. The Monokubs scatter around their podiums instead of going to their spots, being at the obvious trio's and also Kaede's. When he finally finishes, they all stand in silence for a few seconds. 

“So, first things first, we should talk about the attempted murder weapon. I didn't see anything nearby…" Kaede puts a hand to her hip, the other pointing into the air. Monophanie mimics her pose in an attempt to look smart and useful. "Yeah, same." "You never find anything Kai-nii!" "Shut up!"

"What if her fukin god decided to get angry out of nowhere?" "Are you telling me you believe her?" "Nyeh…"

"What if someone just hit her with something already in the room? Then they wouldn't have had to leave at all, or bring anything." "Hah!? There was nothing in the fucking room to use, dipshit!" Miu frowns at them, Monosuke nodding along.

"Actually Iruma, I think Hoshi is right." Shuichi puts the side of his danger against his bottom lip. "The floorboard Yanaga was laying on, it looked tampered with… They most likely placed her body on it in order to try and hide it, but Harukawa went under the floorboards, so her view wasn't obstructed."

"It's true, the bottom of the floorboard was even damaged, like someone had bashed it against the back of someone's head. The shape matched her wound, so I'd say we have our weapon."

"Yeah! That makes a lot of sense." Kiibo nods excitedly, Monotaro nodding along. "Hmm… so they hit her with the floorboard. That is nice to know, but how exactly does this help us figure out her attacker?"

Kokichi smiles, putting his arms behind his head. The sudden shift makes him subtly put a leg behind him with how dizzy he gets for a second. "Well, Kirumi, there was something about that floorboard! Riiight Maki?" 

She sighs. "Yeah, he's right. The support beam below it was cut, the floorboard could be pulled down and slide. It was completely unstable, but that's practically unnoticeable from above."

"And you're telling us to believe the self-proclaimed liar and that suspicious as hell chick? Are you fucking kidding me?" "I-Iruma…"

_ "When did Kiibo become her babysitter?" "I always have been." "Hey! Jackass!" _

"A liar? Who? I hate liars, they're the worst! They're so likely to kill people because they can easily lie their way out of it." "See!? Him and twin tails over there are totally suspicious!"

Suddenly, two voices call out the same thing. "No, that's wrong!" 

"Ouma was with me the whole day. We walked into breakfast together, left together, and never separated. I know it couldn't have been him, we even found the body together and triggered the announcement."

"Me and Harukawa were together for multiple hours before the murder, and she was right behind me as I walked in. It absolutely isn't her."

"Fine! Maybe it wasn't the detective's bed buddy-" Shuichi chokes. "-but who's to say she didn't just knock out the cultist and then run to you for an alibi!?"

"Wooow Miu! You call yourself so smart and then you can't even solve something as simple as this? You're so useless!" "Hee!" "Aaaaanyway~ the floorboard was cut, so I went and investigated the other rooms. The one farthest from the stairs was completely untouched! However, the one closest to the stairs was very much cut. Angie must've walked inside while they were cutting, so they attacked her in cold blood!"

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" "You don't!" "Ouma, your bandages are starting to bleed through."

"..."

Kokichi doesn't move, simply staying frozen as not a soul talks. "What are you, my mom?" "Do you wanna die?" "Nishishi~ I'm not bleeding though! After all, I just put these on for a joke!"

"Take them off then."

_ Bitch. _

Kokichi does, revealing the nasty, but cleaned, wound on his forehead. "That is how Ouma knows, he stepped through it. I walked in after Maki and him went to the kitchen, one of the floorboards was half inside the floor, leaning against the fulcrum. It has his blood all over it. Seems like he accidentally activated a seesaw effect, stepping down on one side which went down while the other went up and fell through the floor."

Kayayde snorts,  _ "Yeah, 'accidental'. Totally." _

_ Hush, you! Shumai might hear you, jeez. _

"Nope! I never make mistakes or accidents! I stepped through on purpose, stomped my foot down so hard I could've split myself in half like Rumpelstiltskin!"

"Who's that…" As Himiko talks, Maki casually steps off her podium and carries Kokichi off of his in order to apply new bandages. He pouts at her the whole time, so she sticks her tongue out at him. Monokuma grumbles at her leaving her spot.

"Angie interrupted a bitch, so what?" "Well, if that had been hours ago, they would've hidden her body better and cut the other room, right?"

"Oh… yeah! The body discovery announcement only plays if three people discover a body!" "And~ Monokuma only played the announcement after I mentioned it. I probably scared him."

"False!" Monokuma talks more, but everyone is so tired of his shit that he goes completely ignored.

"Well, it's plainly obvious that the person who found the body with Saihara and Ouma is the culprit. If I remember correctly, Shinguji was the one in the room with them, right?" Tsumugi tilts her head, Monodam kicking his little leg nubs as he sits on her podium.

"Yep yep yep! Kgk- Hey!" "Don't talk so loudly, you have a concussion." "Jeez. Aaaaanyway~, Korekiyo was kneeling besides Angie's body when we went inside!- Ghk-! Stop!" "You."

"God, you two argue like siblings."

"Degenerate, stop distracting Harukawa! She's trying to catch an attempted murderer!" "Yes, we all are. I do have a question though. What motive could Shinguji possibly have to attack?"

"Well, they were plainly fighting over the motive, remember?" "But that's such a petty fucking motive! Ooh, he gets so rough from just a little hide and seek…" "Please be silent." "Imagine what he's like-" "Please be silent, forever." 

Kokichi starts examining his nails, Maki being back at her podium. "Ok, Miu's grossness aside, KiyoKiyoKiyo? Occult-Ko? Ghostie Man? Incestral Plane?" "Ancestral." "Yeah? That's what I said. Aaaaanyway~ I think you should tell us why you killed her."

Korekiyo raises an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean? I told you before, didn't I? I had gone inside mere seconds before you and knelt down beside her unconscious body to see if she was still with us or one with the dead. I suppose it was simply bad timing on my part, considering you were running."

"How would you notice if I was running if you thought there was a dead body in front of you, huuh?" "Do you perhaps believe that I am deaf? It sounded as though an elephant decided to parade around the hallways, only for me to learn it was you two playing games as though our lives aren't constantly on the line."

"Hmm? Whatever do you mean? Me and Shumai were just talking as we walked inside. He was even carrying me, he's suuuper strong!"

"Is that true, Saihara?" "Obviously not! Look at the fukin virgin, he couldn't even carry my left boob." "Iruma.."

"No actually, I can carry him, but… I wasn't. We weren't running though, that's true." "You  _ can _ carry him!?" "Oh." "Prove it."

"Huuh? Are you trying to put my beloved detective on the spot? How rude! Thusly and for thou, given our proven timeslot, it's gotta be Kiyo. Riiight? What's your defence? Hm? Hm? C'mon ya gotta answer! Hey, hey, hey! Kiyo~! What's wrong? Why aren't you answering? Hmmm? C'mon, c'mon! Hey! I'm right aren't I? I am, am am am am! Nishishi!"

Korekiyo glares at him, starting to sweat. "You are not permitting me to speak. Are you, perhaps, hoping that if I cannot speak then I will be voted as the culprit? Well, you are wrong. I am not the one who attacked Angie Yanaga. I had walked in before you. You had run down the hall, laughing and sticking the ground as though attempting to raise the dead to silence you. Saihara followed behind and nearly fell into the door you opened because he was trying to catch you."

"Nah." "You- you cannot 'nah' me here!" "I am, because that's a load of bullshit. You keep prancing on and on about how you didn't do it because of… what? You walked in just a few seconds before us? Who can confirm that? Me and Shuichi are both saying that you're wrong. Out of everybody here, you and me are some of the most untrustworthy, but that's disregarding Shumai. Shumai isn't a liar, in fact he sucks at it. Trust me, he's tried for stupid reasons. Like how much sleep he got the night before. If it was just my word verses yours, there might actually be a dilemma, but this is your word against ours. And I know who the real liar is."

"Shut up! You're wrong, you're so wrong! I am not an attempted murderer nor murderer, so stop looking at me like one! I did nothing, I am being framed by a liar and his assistant! No one can even confirm they were even together!"

"But didn't you?"

"Eh!?"

"You did, by claiming you saw us enter together. Not only you, but everyone saw us leave together at breakfast. That's not enough on its own though, which leaves one more person. Tojo."

"Huh!? Why are you saying Tojo's name all of a sudden, degenerate!" "I'm afraid I do not understand either."

"Tojo, don't you remember? During lunch, you came up."

Kirumi's eyes shine, grateful to participate. She softly claps her gloved hands together. "Ah, yes that's correct. Around midday, I had traveled up looking for people. You see, I had tried a new way of making miso soup and wished to get everyone's opinion on it. The first people I came across were Ouma and Saihara. Saihara was asleep on Ouma's shoulder, softly mumbling in his sleep. I never did get their opinions, as Ouma requested that I hand out the rest first."

_ Why did she have to mention he was asleep? That sorta negates both of our alibis… they might not notice though. _

_...My head hurts. _

"It was great. There you have it! Me and Shumai have rock solid alibis, and you are undeniably the killer."

"You're wrong! You're all wrong! I'm being framed, Saihara isn't as honest as you all think! Apologize right now! How dare you- how  _ dare _ you! Apologize!"

"...Yeah, can we skip the mental breakdown? I already had one of those buddy, it's not very fun. Besides you acting like that? That's sooo sus my dude… Kiiboy does he seem sus to you? I know you tried to learn it after I said it the first time."

Kiibo perks up, having been slowly shrinking in on himself as Kokichi and Korekiyo went back and forth. "Yes! He is, um, sus. Yeah." "What's sus?" "I'll try to teach you later 'Taro."

"There you have it! Even Kiibo thinks you're suspicious! How ya gonna get out of this one? Just admit you're the culprit!"

To his surprise, Kiyo floats over and lightly puts his hand over Kokichi's arm. _ "Kokichi, if you keep this up, he's going to… Sister. I'm not sure about you, but I don't think the people here deserve to see that. He cannot see or hear me, so I have the ability to assist you." _

Kokichi's smile widens for a second, just for Kiyo, before dropping entirely. He yawns. "Ok, I'm bored now."

There's a small silence before loud noises of general confusion erupt from all around him.

"What do you mean you're bored!?" And other similar statements shoot through the air to him, honestly kinda fading out slightly. Thankfully Shuichi cuts in, good old Ghostie Man being next to him. Kokichi feels his consciousness slipping and sort of mumbles to himself before he falls into dreams.

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi, much younger than the usual age range, is. Somewhere. The roof? Yeah, he's on a roof. He's sitting up there, wind howling around him with thin clothes. He's shaking, tears stinging his eyes. Why is he up there again? Oh yeah, his parents tricked him into going up and then removed the ladder. He slides forward a little, leaning as he tries to look for a way down. Ah! The window! He can totally use that, he's light enough. A bit too light to be honest. _

\----------------------------

"-ichi!" "...zuh?"

He blinks his eyes open. They're still slightly blurry, so he rubs at them, annoyed. Kokichi looks up and sees most of them staring at him, the ones that aren't are looking at Shumai, the one who called his name. He forces down the memories of his dream to dwell about later like the rest, which he still hasn't dwelled about, he smiles widely in a way that certainly didn't help his headache.

"I was totally listening!" 

Shuichi sighs, smiling like a weirdo. Who smiles while sighing at Kokichi? That was unheard of before now. "Ouma, can you recount everything you remember from today?"

_ Ah, my memory is a bit fuzzy from the. Y'know. Whole bashing my fucking skull open thing I did. _

Kokichi grabs the rainbow hair tie that he's had on his wrist since he stole it from Maki, it having been hidden under his sleeve, and ties up pieces of his hair in a way that resembles Shuichi's ahoge. He can nearly feel his brain growing more cells.

"Well, I woke up really fucking early to Shuichi being an insomniac and we talked a bit while he pet my head, then he passed out and that was boring so my soul left my body until minutes before he decided to return to the land of the awake. We went to the breakfast meeting for some reason, left together, and then stayed together the whole day which Kirumi knows as she gave us lunch. After making out intensely for hours, we then went to the middle empty room, saw Korekiyo kneeling next to Angie and the announcement soon went off. Happy?" 

"We… we weren't making out."

"Yep! It was a lie!"

"Well, at least you were detailed. Does that answer your question Akamatsu?"

"Yep! I can say for sure that I know who it is now." Kaede nods her head, Monophanie still mimicking her actions after all of this time.

Kiyo sits with his living counterpart, whispering at him as he takes deep breaths. Seems they managed to avoid the sister shit while he was passed out standing. Korekiyo is no longer on the edge of a breakdown, which is nice. Would be nicer if Kokichi could register anything they're saying now. It feels like his body is on autopilot, numbly voting Korekiyo when the voting panel opens. This has been happening after each trial, right? Yeah, he passed out after Tsumugi's trial. These fuckers are draining, Himiko's crying face can attest to that. Seems she managed her friendship with Angie and really isn't liking her not being awake. Or something. Monokuma says something, probably complaints about still not being able to execute anyone, where Kokichi exclaims that changing the rules in the middle game isn't fair to anyone, and they all get dismissed to the elevator.

Kokichi stands in his spot, quickly falling back asleep. His head hurts like a bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,014 words  
> Have you guys noticed that my writing style kinda changes a little while I write trials? That's kinda cool ngl. Certainly not helpful for knowing who's talking though.
> 
> Fun fact! The original line completely written by me was: "Do you perhaps believe that I am deaf? It sounded as though an elephant decided to-" but I didn't know how to finish it, so my kinnie friend gave me this:   
> "do you perhaps believe that i am deaf? it sounded as though an elephant decided to parade around the hallways, only for me to learn it was your fat ass doing god knows what in that crusty ass hallway ✋🙄 it was simply "out of pocket""   
> I then edited it to: "Do you perhaps believe that I am deaf? It sounded as though an elephant decided to parade around the hallways, only for me to learn it was you two playing games as though our lives aren't constantly on the line."
> 
> Fanfact 2: the line to interrupt Kokichi was originally: "Shut your fucking mouth, you lying toaster oven!" "Lying what-"


	18. Concussion Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My Korekiyo Kinnie friend has officially pronounced me a Kokichi kin. So take that as you will.

_Kokichi wanders. Aimlessly walking through darkness. His brain is empty, no thoughts constantly stampeding through except for the occasional exception. When he breathes out, he can see his breath, but it's not cold. If only there was snow… he's never gotten to play with snow before. No, he did with D.I.C.E, right? Well, they probably aren't real, so it doesn't count yet. Kokichi keeps walking, watching as the colors shift around him, like a kaleidoscope sorta. Or when you rub your eyes and then turn up the saturation. He likes it, very colorful. Soon, the floor color shifts to green, sprouting flowers. He somehow doesn't break any as he walks, like they're actually a fabric. Like, that fabric that acts like the Aurora Borealis. Is that silk or something else?_

_After a few seconds of walking, he notices his clothing. It's… black. A school uniform, just like the other ghosts. And his hair is still up in that fake ahoge, he must've forgotten to take it out. Oh well, he'll do it later._

_The dream shifts, suddenly he's not alone. He's in a room, laughing. 2#9!¢#! sits across from him, pouting._

_"You 2 &id 5ou w&nt to get b3tte4 at En9lish, 1his i2 t#e best way I ¢an th!;k 0f!" _

_"How is singing a song in english supposed to help me learn the language?"_

_"Tr6st {e?" "Nishishi, fine fine…"_

_His friend laughs, his eyes brightening. That always seems to happen whenever Kokichi let's his weird laugh be heard. He hates his laugh, but if it makes the taller boy smile, he'll do it. 2#9!¢#! bounces in place a little, reaches out to tap a button on his laptop, a gift from his uncle. The music starts playing, Kokichi smiles. His friend grabs his hands and starts swaying then back and forth._

_By the end of the song, they're both collapsed on the floor after spinning in circles, aka dancing, the whole song. They let out breathy, tired laughter, room hotter with all of their movement. They lay there, happy and content on the floor with each other's company._

_The next day, Kokichi hops out of the window while humming under his breath. Eventually, it turns to mumbling, then he would sing quietly as he walks to school._

\----------------------------

Kokichi slowly blinks his eyes open. He's on the floor, as usual, being cuddled against Shuichi, as usual. This time feels much less accidental though, he's practically squished beneath the taller boy's long limbs. He's being hugged to his chest, one leg thrown over his ankles. There's a mostly melted makeshift ice pack slightly fallen off his head. The swelling on his head has significantly gone down, the pounding reverberating through his skull has lessened, but everything still feels too bright. He keeps his eyes mostly closed, scanning the room. The lamp is on instead of the lights, a small mercy that doesn't do much, and most people are still asleep. Ghosts being included, but much more of them are awake and surrounding the two of them.

He doesn't mean to fall back asleep too, he only closed his eyes for a few seconds. If asked later, that's what he'll insist.

\----------------------------

_Kokichi sits behind the building. Based on past patterns, his friend is going to go shopping for his uncle today. Not sure if it can really be called "sitting behind the building" when he's carefully hidden where he can look out but not be seen. Soon, 2#6!¢#! pushes the door open and walks outside, head pointed downward in a way that can be mistaken as meek, but if gazes can burn then the reciprocant would be ashes. Kokichi lets out a skaky laugh, knowing that the gaze has never been about him. It took a while to convince him of this, but after enough apologies, he believed it._

_Once 2#6!¢#! gets close enough to his spot, Kokichi leaps out and hesitantly wraps his arms around his torso. It must be funny, to see him quickly jump out and then slowly start hugging him because his friend jumps before laughing._

_"#3y, K0kic#i."_

_"H-Hey Saihara."_

_"H &ha, d!÷n't I tel/ 5ou to ¢a/l m3 Sh6ic#i?" _

_"Ah, sorry Sai-S-Shuichi…"_

_His friend, Shuichi, laughs again, and Kokichi finds himself laughing along._

\----------------------------

Kokichi feels shifting around him, before he's suddenly a lot colder. He lets out a low whine and tries to curl further in on himself, but a hand hesitantly petting his hair stops him. 

The hand pets his hair for a few seconds before it moves, the arm it's attached to brushing across his hair. Then, Kokichi lets out a deep breath, a soothing coolness spreading through his poor head. Then the warmth returns to his torso. Kokichi smiles to himself despite it feeling like his head is swimming through mud. Usually he would be a bit more concerned, but he feels… safe. Yeah, he's safe. He shouldn't fall back asleep though, that's a bad idea, considering how much he already slept. But sadly, another hand comes out of the darkness, and soon it lulls him back into sleep. His dreams are basically forgotten with how little he's thinking about them, but he will later. 

\----------------------------

_Kokichi jumps out of the window, running to the sidewalk and stomping down his feet to slow his momentum. Shuichi claps from behind him, smiling. Kokichi smiles back, and they set off. It's getting easier to smile, but it's still small. It's helpful that they're walking to Shuichi's house, away from his own and the opposite direction of the school. Of course, his brain is still ringing from last night's signature screaming, but he can drown it out under the songs Shuichi showed him._

_After a few minutes of walking, both are happily singing in his living room. His uncle, the only adult Kokichi actually trusts, leans against the wall with a gruff smile. They have a small snack break in the middle, and Kokichi manages to eat more than he did when they first did this once again. His parents didn't give him dinner last night, so that made it easier._

\----------------------------

Kokichi isn't really coherent the next time he wakes up. Shuichi nervously sits next to the concussed boy as he starts mumbling, quickly replacing his ice pack with a colder one. Tojo hasn't come to check in on them for a good hour now, so she probably trusts him with this or is really busy. Shuichi would normally be happy to hear someone trusts him, but also he doesn't know what he's doing. He's never had to treat anyone before, only look at their bodies after the worse had already happened. Or go and see them in the hospital if they survived. He much prefers dead body-less cases, like missing pets. Small things.

He takes a deep breath, grabbing Kokichi's hand and nervously running his fingers around his skin. He's… really pale. Shuichi can't really say much without being hypercritical, but it sorta looks unhealthy. And he's really thin, Tojo took him out of his coat to properly clean it of blood so he's just in a tank top. She had paused for a moment and made a concerned him when she saw his form, meaning it's definitely not good to be this thin, but it looks like it's not as bad as it could be. Akamastu had asked him what he thought, and his answer was pretty simple. He's pretty sure Kokichi didn't have a good home life, but maybe he had a friend helping him. He's not sure why he feels so strongly about that, but Akamastu took it as fact and vowed to help him too, which led to most of the rest doing the same. They seem to trust his 'detective intuition' a bit too much, he doesn't even have evidence.

He worries his bottom lip between his teeth, brushing a stray hair out from under the ice pack. Kokichi tilts his head into his hand like a cat. He hears one of the ghosts laugh at it.

\----------------------------

_Kokichi sits at the back of the class. There's two doors, one in the front and one in the back of the class. He sits closest to the door in the back. This means that he can quickly duck into the hall and get away from his classmates, but it also means he's one of the first people in the hallway. A very open hallway with little space to hide. Thankfully, Shuichi has the class across from him so people often leave it. Unfortunately, sometimes Shuichi has to stay a few minutes late because he keeps getting into fights to protect him. Today is one of those days, and the people coming out of the taller boy's class know it. There's always this feeling of apprehension, waiting, holding their breath. When one of his upperclassmen grabs him by the collar of his shirt and lifts his smaller frame, it's like the whole hallway let out that breath._

_For the first time though, when everyone starts to swarm him, Kokichi doesn't just freeze. He squirms, he kicks, he lashes out. Tears are streaming from his eyes and he knows it wouldn't happen but there's this absolute need to fight back. Because Shuichi is teaching him how to fight back, and if he doesn't… he might be disappointed. He feels something snap and let's out a yelp, but at that moment he hears something._

_"YO6 A8SO/UTE °UC~}ADS!"_

_There's lots of movement suddenly. Everyone is running in different directions, some stay to attack him for just a little longer before he feels much gentler arms wrap around him after a good minute._

_Shuichi._

_ Kokichi leans into him, letting out a deep breath. Shuichi keeps running, running out of school despite it only being lunch. He opens the window to his room with Kokichi still in his arms, depositing him inside before climbing in himself. He runs out and grabs the recently refilled first aid kit from his bathroom. It has stuff in it that a normal first aid kit likely wouldn't and is pretty big. After a few minutes, an ointment on his large smatterings of bruises, and there's a splint resting around his left pinkie, bandages and band aids over his cheek, right wrist, and left leg. Shuichi himself isn't free of them, having his knuckles bandaged, as usual.  _

_ "I…" "You fou9#1 ba¢~, r!9ht? S0{e of the{ w34e a/read5 84uise÷ whe; I ¢&me 061."  _

_ "...Sorry-" "No- ;0! It's- !12 f!n3. It's πerfect actually. I'{ \ust… 43&lly proud of you. Yo6 di÷ 9reat, di÷n't e^en brea~ yo64 thu{b!" _

_ Kokichi looks up, finding Shuichi's eyes for the first time since he came out of the room. His face is soft, not angry or disappointed, it's… so happy. He lets out a deep breath, tears having been filling his eyes finally overflowing. He pushes himself forward, wrapping his arms around Sai- Shuichi. His friend hugs him back. They cling to each other, which is normal. It's normal to grab your friend like he's the only thing keeping you alive, especially when he is. _

\----------------------------

Kokichi lets out a deep breath.Opening his eyes, he finds someone in front of him, worryingly taking care of him, just like always. Shuichi brightens as Kokichi looks at him, nervously running his fingers through Kokichi's hair. He carefully avoids the wound, not tugging on it nor his scalp. Seems Maki brushing his hair that one time actually helped. On the bed, Angie isn't there. Seems she had already woken up. There's plenty of ghosts though, Kayayde floating over him, worried.

"Kokichi!" It's said quietly, yet still obviously happy by both Yay-chan and Shumai. Rocky straightens from where he was sitting, coming to stand over them.

Ok, maybe it might be time to acknowledge the dreams he keeps having.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1,990 words  
> Sorry for the delay! My birthday happened and then school has been kicking my ass


	19. Communication?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My rankings for the concussions is this. Angie had it best, no blood, just a bump and headache. Kokichi, blood and throwing up shit tons but also he woke up pretty quickly. Then Rantaro, blood and he passed out too fast to throw up, asleep for days. My favorite to write was Kokichi though, because I actually got to write it.

Kokichi looks up at Shuichi, taking in every detail. His golden eyes and dark blue hair, pale face and long eyelashes, the worried expression… yeah, there's definitely no denying it. "...Hey, have you been having weird dreams lately?" Shuichi blinks down at him in surprise before tilting his head slightly.

"You have a concussion… of course you'll have weird dreams."

"No- no no no, not like that- These have been happening since I woke up here." "Is… is that a lie?" "No, Shumai. I'm not lying. Now answer the goddamn question."

"Well… yeah. Can't remember them really clearly though…" "I can!"

Kokichi pushes himself up, ignoring the pang of pain in his skull. Shuichi makes a worried noise, putting his arms up to wave them around, but ultimately accomplishes nothing. Especially not making Kokichi lay back down. 

"Remember what I told you before the time limit was over?"

"..."

\----------------------------

_ "Hey! With all these memories hypothetically missing, who knows what else they did! Maybe they changed our whole pasts! Or maybe not, who knows." _

"...You said they might have changed our memories, right? Including our entire pasts."

Shuichi tilts his head at the small boy, pushing his finger against his lip. Kokichi has a strange spark in his eyes, he looks more determined than he should after splitting his head open, so Shuichi let's him talk. He might fall asleep in the middle of the conversation, he might not remember it even happening, but still. Kokichi nods sagely, staring right into his eyes, Stark difference to when they found him outside the empty rooms and he could hardly find their faces.

"Yep yep yep! And I'm extremely absolutely one hundred percent convinced that these dreams are our  _ real _ pasts." "Are… are you sure? What if it's just… dreams?" "Is my beloved  _ doubting me! _ ? YOU'RE SUCH A JERK, SO AWFUL AND MEEAAAAN! Anyway yeah, I'm sure. You'll just have to trust my word though~!"

Kokichi shifts, probably having become uncomfortable after laying there for hours. He once again puts his legs on a now flustered Shuichi and keeps talking. "Not sure why you'd do that though, after all, I  _ am _ a liar."

"I do." "...Eh?" "I trust you. If you think that they're memories, then I'll believe you, Kokichi."

Kokichi quickly ducks his head, moving his legs off his lap and putting them under him to sit slightly taller. "W- Well! Seems that makes you part of my secret organization now Shumai!" "I've basically already been in it-" "But that's a lie! The things my organization does are dangerous, if my beloved detective did them then he would get hurt and I simply cannot have  _ that _ . Nishishi!"

"Is that why you split your head open on the floor instead of just. Coming to get me?"

" _ I told him you did it on purpose _ ."

Kokichi turns and looks at a specific spot in the air. He hisses "Traitor," to them before turning back. "Well then mister detective, how do you propose I could've known about it already? After all, I'd need to know in order to tell you without splitting my head open."

"... Because you tampered with the board under Yanaga to make it more obvious, which begs the question of how you knew that was the murder weapon." "Magic!" "Kokichi…" "I shimmeyed my tiny body inside the floor and noticed the dent in the floorboard." 

"There's also the question of how you knew anyone would use the vent in Amami's trial, reorganizing some books and pushing in a vent cover isn't exactly criminal behavior, and you never personally saw her do them even." Kokichi says nothing, staring at Shuichi with a blank face. Shuichi sighs before he continues. "If I reveal my lies no one called me out on, will you tell me the truth? The mastermind room isn't actually right above the bathrooms, they're really pretty far away-"

"Would you believe me if I said the ghosts told me?" "Is- is that the truth?" "Of course it is!"

Kokichi looks up at Shuichi, smiling widely. He knows, he knows he should just stop fighting and tell the truth but-

"...Ok. if you don't want to tell then I won't force you, Kokichi."

Shuichi isn't the type to do that. Kokichi lets out the breath he was holding, slumping against Shuichi's chest. Shuichi frowns to himself, worried. For Kokichi to have something so secret that he can't even tell Shuichi? He's probably the person closest to him currently, at least that's what Akamastu keeps saying, and she always says it with a weird voice. Or… is he worried about other people listening in? But there's no one in here, there's not exactly anywhere to hide. Shuichi watched everyone leave this morning even, but… if this is what Kokichi chooses then he will respect it.

"... You're in my dreams." Shuichi nearly jumps as Kokichi starts talking, breath seeming through his shirt thanks to his face being pressed against it. Thankfully, he manages to suppress it to what felt more like a flinch.

_ Is he…  _

"Kokichi, you don't have to make up for not telling me, it's perfectly fine. I promise." He smiles down at the smaller boy, hesitantly bringing his arms up to hug him.

"Shumai, in one of the dreams, you taught me english by us singing english songs together."

_ “...I was singing?”  _

_ Momota nods, “Yeah, it sounded like English to me…" _

"...Oh… Hm." "We ended up just dancing the first day, grabbing hands and spinning in circles until the song ended, where we let go and flew to the floor. Laughing. I also remember our first meeting, I was being cornered against the wall by a bunch of upperclassmen and you drop kicked one of them and led me away. You told me it was a wrestling move and we hid in the closet and watched wrestling videos."

"...Wrestling moves are pretty cool though."

Kokichi smiles up at him, keeping his head against Shuichi's chest. "Yeah, you said that before too. Apparently you memorized a bunch of them. Pretty lucky that you did, or my ass would be grass."

"Ah- um. Yeah, that is pretty lucky… I think… one of my dreams was also that? I- I remember kicking some dude in the face and dragging the victim away to a closet… in the dream." Shuichi looks off to the side, away from Kokichi. His face is red enough that it really doesn't matter and he can definitely still see but still. 

"Awh we're having matching dreams Shumai! Or me telling you my dream reminded you of a similar one and you now mistakenly believe you had the same dream."

"Uhm, I think I remember more actually? I… I remember being pulled on the floor by the arms, legs dragging behind me… that was weird… Um… a smile… a bright yet shy smile. And… sirens. Really loud sirens, and enraged screams…" Shuichi trails off. He's still blushing slightly, a person is in his lap with his head against his chest that's really close- but it's definitely less bright. Kokichi kicks his feet a little, swaying so he keeps lightly tapping his chest with his head.

"I remember a roof. It was cold and windy, and I was stuck up there. Alone." He lets out a huff of laughter, bitter and cold, "Wow, we sure did have some great childhoods didn't we! At least your uncle is nice."

"My uncle? You met him?" "Yeah, pretty sure he has full custody of you. He's a good cook, especially when you're starving." "St- Starving!?" "Just kidding! That's a lie! Just because they tricked me into sitting on a cold roof for hours doesn't mean they starved me!" "Ah… I… think that's a lie."

Kokichi smiles up at him again, expression doing a flip from the previous huff. "Who knows! Certainly not me, none of my dreams have included them yet! Maybe I was never born, I was spawned from one of Himiko's magic sessions going wrong, or an explosion in Miu's lab so I'm really just some robot made from various metal dicks! Nishishi~!" 

Shuichi and Kokichi both dissolve into laughter, despite both of them now having a small amount of knowledge about each other's pasts. Kokichi ends up passing back out after Shuichi gets him something to eat, he does still have a concussion after all. He'll be better tomorrow.

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi sits on the roof, years later than the last time. Next to him, Shuichi. There's a hatch to an attic next to them, closer to Kokichi. Shuichi frowns down at it. _

_ "How… um, how long were you…" "Three days. Took them a bit to find me, but Uncle did. He called the police, and now my parents are in jail." "Do… do you think- um…" "Kokichi, he'd be happy to help you." _

_ Kokichi lets out a breath. He'd been so anxious to ask, and he didn't even need to. He slumps against his friend, smiling. Shuichi laughs a little and puts an arm around his shoulder, idly tapping out a song on his side. "...I don't like roofs. They trapped me on one." "I don't like attics, so maybe that helps?" "Nishishi… yeah, kinda. Thanks Sai- Shuichi." _

_ The dream shifts. They sit on Shuichi's bed together, facing each other. They're playing a game, there's an English song playing in Japanese and they're trying to sing the English words. They both keep fumbling and then laughing before they keep going. The song is loud, but Shuichi's uncle has no complaints when he comes in and brings them a snack. He mostly works from home, especially now that Kokichi keeps coming over. _

_ "Hey, um… Mr. Saihara? Why are you… always here?" _

_ "Heh, if I wasn't then all you would get is sweets. Shuichi can't cook, but the boy can bake. He'd set cereal on fire, but can make a fancy cake. It's quite funny actually. However, you're clearly not getting enough nutrients, so baking wouldn't help you. So I stay here and I cook for you both. It's good practice." _

_ "Oh…" Kokichi blinks after him, the taller man waving goodbye as he closes the door. Shuichi continues the song and they keep attempting to sing along. _

_ Shift. Kokichi sits in the cabinet. There's yelling, loud yelling and anger. It's cramped, he's squished, and his ears are ringing. His breaths are silent, but still far too loud for him. His parents don't hear them though, they don't hear anything but each other. Each other and their anger. They might go looking for him soon, united despite their anger due to hatred. _

_ He's in the cabinet, and he's alone. He'll always be alone. The cabinet is cold, his yellow eye is closed due to sensitivity, hands are clamped over his equally sensitive ears.  _

_ It's cold, it's dark, it's loud, and he's alone. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1,805 words   
> Anyway, I recently read a slow burn time loop saiouma fic because I have very specific taste and. They got together chapter 10. These dumbasses still aren't together, even as Kaede relentlessly teases Shuichi when they aren't with Kokichi. Anyway, there's going to be other ships than Saiouma, I just never mentioned them. Wonder if you can guess based on what I've hinted, even with the vast rarepairs in this fandom. Surprise: all but one of them are very gay and there's 2 poly.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Throughout this entire fanfic there's two occurrences where I use Keebo instead of Kiibo. Smh mh.  
> Also I'm sick now. That's not fun

Kokichi awakes with a start, sucking in air like a man choked, which he is but not currently. He does that so quickly that he does actually choke on the air though, muffling his coughs into his arm. Partway through, his back starts getting pat rather softly. Opening his slightly watery eyes, he finds the lights mostly off, but the room is still empty. Except for a very sleepy Shuichi, who is hugging him and patting his back like a child as they lay in their normal sleeping spots. There's still ghosts scattered around, but there's much less than before.

"...Shumai?" "...You… you goo' K'kichi…?" His voice is thick with sleep, the coughing must've just barely woken him up.

"...Yeah, I'm good Shumai." "Good. Don'… don' want chu dyin' on me…" "Thanks Shumai." 

"Yo'r," He yawns, "You're 'lcom Kokich…" Sleepily, he hugs him slightly tighter with arms too heavy to do so, lightly rubbing his forehead against Kokichi's. He immediately falls back asleep. During that whole thing, he never reopened his eyes, but if he did then a very flustered face would be the first thing he sees. Kokichi's face absolutely burns, and he can feel stares on his back. To the surprise of absolutely not a soul, everyone's favorite older brother comes over. He stands behind Kokichi, feet not touching the floor so he can bend over them and look at Kokichi. His hair falls, effected by gravity despite himself not being so himself.

"Kichi~" "Shut the fuck up Ran-nii." 

Rantaro laughs, "Kiichiiii~" "Ran-nii, I swear to all that is holy, I will murder you. I know where to find the shot put balls." 

Rantaro reaches out, slightly poking Kokichi's cheek. "You're having fun with your boyfriend~?" "He's not my boyfriend." "Mmmmmmm, nah I don't believe you." "Fuck you. Why are you like this? You weren't like this when I met you." 

Kokichi glares at Rantaro, face still burning. Rantaro laughs at his face, he could hear others in the room also laughing at his misfortune. "You're the one who keeps calling me your big brother. This is entirely your fault Kichi."

Kokichi opens his mouth to respond, but is interrupted by Shuichi grumbling and squeezing him again. Everyone still in the room freezes, Rantaro straightens and backs away, hands up like he's surrendering. Despite all of that, his face holds a smirk and his body language is deceptively relaxed. Kirumi sighs to herself, quietly, and basically picks him up to carry him away to a corner. She whispers at him until he slumps, like a child in time out who feels absolutely no regret. "Thaaaaanks mom. He was bullying me." "...You're welcome, Kokichi. Rantaro… please refrain from bullying him." "I will, I will. I promise."

It's silent then, there's nothing more to be said. Kokichi takes deep breaths to calm his speeding heart, now from both the nightmare and embarrassment. His face is practically morphing into Shuichi's shirt so he doesn't have much of a choice but to breathe in his smell. He smells like books and flowers, a nice scent. Kinda ironic too, considering the first death. Rantaro was killed in the library, and Kaede's execution had flowers. Or did it? Maybe it was just flower imagery. He was a bit more focused on the body being crashed onto the piano than the background and presence or lack of flowers.

Mind jumping from topic to topic, he doesn't know when Shuichi woke up. He only knows because Miu told him.

"Hey cocksucker! Your boy toy is awake!"

To be more exact, she yelled at him. Both boys flush, Shuichi stammering and Kokichi staying silent with his face still buried in Shuichi's shirt. What time is it even?

\----------------------------

Everyone is sitting in the cafeteria when Monokuma shows up.

"Finally, took you forever to wake up. Speaking of you, you're ruining everything! This is the most boring killing game ever! I'm gonna be a laughing stock!" "Hasn't he said that before-" "Shut your fuck up Ass-tronaut!" "Hey!"

Kaede throws an arm out, stopping Kaito from jumping at Monokuma by smacking his chest and then her and Rantaro tug him back down, Rantaro patting his shoulder with a smile. Tenko shifts, like she wants to attack him too but has more self-restraint, grabbing onto Angie and Himiko's sleeves. Honestly, anyone can have more self-restraint than Kaito. 

"Anyway, you guys need to stop ignoring the motives and kill already! Don't you want out? Don't you want your stupid fucking freedom!? God! Seeing you all so friendly and NOT KILLING is going to make all my fur fall off from stress!"

"Well, yeah duh escaping would be fun. However, murder isn't fun. In the outside world, there's a really high number of possible culprits, but here it's just us so you're much more likely to be caught! A murder hasn't happened meaning all of us are like. Close or something. Meaning people are hanging out constantly, and they all have alibis. It would just be a bad idea to kill this late! And besides… killers are just the worst!" Kokichi smiles at Monokuma, eyes wide and hands behind his head. People would usually call the expression creepy, but all his classmates seem fine with it. The only ones affected are the Monobears.

"Huuh? But you can't leave without murder!" "Who needs a murder? What would you do if we managed to get through this whole thing without killing and still manage to escape."

"..."

Monokuma leaves, not saying a thing. Everyone's mood has significantly worsened just by Monokuma being near them, the Monokubs hiding around their chosen parents, Kaede bumps shoulders with Tsumugi to try and cheer her up, Maki placing a hand on her other shoulder in unexpected support. Gonta and Keebo work together in cheering up Himiko, while Miu gets pat on the back by Tenko. Angie is talking at Ryoma again, and he's  _ this _ close to tuning her out. How he hasn't yet is a mystery. Kirumi is standing with Korekiyo. He has a different mask on, completely different design. He seems tired, and does whatever Kirumi asks the second she says it. Much like Kork and Martial/Artist actually, considering he mostly just floats after the two girls that he murdered in cold blood. 

Kokichi bites at his fingernail while he thinks.  _ Well, I've officially challenged Monokuma, and by extension, the people running this killing game. They can see practically fucking everything so they definitely know that I'm the one stopping all the murders, so what's stopping them from killing me and framing someone else? They obviously fucked with my personality and memories, we been knew about that, so what's stopping them from just changing it again? Or changing someone else's into murder? We just passed the third trial, meaning the next one would be Miu and Gonta- oh wait. The new floor has been revealed hasn't it? Probably, he's been opening more because more tools and places to hide the body, but keeps saying it's a prize for getting past the motives. Why would he give us prizes though? Wait I'm off topic. _

While thinking, he stands up and starts leaving the room. How long has it been since he was alone?  _ Ok, back to thoughts on my inevitable demise. We haven't been following their rules, so they might break them too. In fact we haven't been very interesting, it would make sense to kill us all to get on with a new season, or erase our memories again. It- Ak. Ow. I just walked into the door. Seriously? When was the last time I did that? It was… before I went into the vent, going into the classroom. Fuck, thought I was passed that already. Or maybe it's because I was always with someone after that, I would immediately hold the door open for them. Wow, how polite! I'm such a gentleman, Gonta would be proud. _

Miu laughs loudly at him as he backs up and opens the door, passing through like a normal living person. It falls on deaf ears though, as he keeps walking away, alone.

\----------------------------

Shuichi winces as Kokichi walks straight into the door, but Kiibo only raises an eyebrow. Under Iruma's laughter, you can hear him mutter to himself. "...Wow, he hasn't done that in a while."

"What do you mean Kiibo?" "The first day we woke up here, he was constantly tripping on corners of walls and walking into both walls and doors alike. He's been doing it less as time goes on, but I suppose it's still happening occasionally."

"Ah, I am inclined to agree. Before the first sleepover, I watched as he walked directly into a door before starting to pick the lock." Tojo tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, the other side still covering her eye.

"Ah! He actually talked about that recently. Not- not the… the walking into doors and walls. His lockpicks. Harukawa... did you take them when he was unconscious or when you were brushing his hair?" Shuichi presses the side of his knuckle to his bottom lip, tilting his head at the assassin in question. She sighs at him.

"Yeah, I did. I don't trust him, he knows things he shouldn't. Giving the ability to break in anywhere just… isn't smart. At all." Harukawa looks off to the side, face looking vaguely disappointed that she still has distrust for the small boy despite how helpful yet childish he is, yet still cold and resolute in her decision."I know you all love to sing about friendship and cooperation, but he hasn't even told his motives for doing the things he does. He was in the vent to stop the shot put ball, he suggested a sleepover and stole the second motives from the empty rooms while everyone else was asleep, he's the one who found Yanaga, and he just challenged Monokuma. It just keeps piling up, and all it points to is him not telling us everything, and he knows more than he's letting on."

"It may be true that he's not telling us everything, but didn't he let us know that when we met him? He told us our ultimates and proclaimed himself a liar right off the bat, when he didn't even know each other. I know I may be slightly biased, but I think he's just as trustworthy as the rest of you." Amami shrugs, smiling. Momota does a thumbs up, nodding excitedly. 

"I have to agree with Harukawa… even if you all no longer care for my input. Everything about Ouma simply screams untrustworthy." Shinguji presses a hand to his cheek.

Angie looks between everyone with near perfectly hidden panic on her face. "Atua is telling me that we shouldn't doubt our friends!" She smiles, clasping her hands over her head, "He says we should all get along, and not divide the group, or else bad things will happen. He's sure of it! Nyahahaha!"

Miu scowled, "Ouma may be an annoying little brat, but I think I personally know him well enough to say that I trust him a bit. I've had some weird inspiration lately, and this gorgeous girl genius is pretty sure they're things he'd ask for. Fuck, I'm even making some. If I can guess what the little shit would want, I think I know him."

One of the ghosts laughed victoriously at that, the others congratulating them on getting her to make the items. Shuichi doesn't know what that's about, but those items are probably something Kokichi mentioned would be useful but hasn't had time to to ask for. Before he could think more on it, everyone else started clambering to give their opinion. Some were too stunned to speak, like Kiibo, but others were just not interested in speaking up yet, like Kirumi.

"What an exhausting conversation… nyeh…" "I think Ouma may be a degenerate male, but he won't touch the girls, so he's ok enough. I would have a better read if I fought him though!" "I know Ouma's personality, he's plainly trying to help, genuinely." "Gonta think doubting friends is bad… Gonta wants to trust friends!" "Ouma… he's not a bad kid. Seems he's still got a ways to go though, if multiple people don't trust 'im."

Kaede is the last person to speak up, once everyone else has quieted down. "I trust Ouma because Saihara has the biggest crush on him." "I- I don't! Why do you keep saying that…" Shuichi nearly reaches up for his hat to pull it over his face, but covers his red face with his hands instead.

"Ah, I did notice something about that. Saihara, you used to only call Ouma his first name when worried about him, now you haven't called him anything else since after the trial. I know it isn't my place to pry, and I apologise, but I feel as though Akamastu enjoys the information."

Soon the conversation shifted to mostly teasing Shuichi, even from the ghosts. His face is going to be red for all eternity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,175 words


	21. Screamin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have been part of a Danganronpa roleplay as a spectator-who-arrived-late-turned-mod-somehow for around half a year, and it ended Jan 2nd. There's a small reference to it in this chapter. Wonder if anyone can figure it out?

Kokichi has his head down while walking, his foot accidentally kicks a corner and he falls, hitting his thigh on the wall and landing on his back. None of the ghosts followed him for once, so he's alone. He's completely alone again, just like the last loop. Sure, it won't be for long, but still. The thought is heavy in his mind. As he lays there, he hears the sound of his impact echoing slightly through the hallway. This isn't the first time he's lied on the floor, he did it once with Tenko and Himiko too. He's alone this time though. That makes it much less fun. In fact, being alone right now is quite boring. Is that a part of his fake personality or something they didn't care enough to change? He certainly doesn't know. In his dreams, he looks like an introvert, but then again he had also attached to Shumai pretty quickly. There's no way to know anymore. He might have just been introverted out of necessity, considering he certainly looked bullied.

Kokichi closes his eyes, too long to just be a blink but too short for him to be trying to fall asleep right on the floor there. When he opens them again, Monokuma is there. Of course he is.

"You're not making this very fun for me, you know?" "You're not very good for my mental health, you know?" "Phuhuhu… At least I get to watch as you run yourself ragged trying desperately to save everyone! I say that and yet… you aren't really doing much, are you. Nope! You're mostly just sitting around and letting everyone else do the work! You knew who the blackened was last trial, yet you still didn't even say anything and could've gotten everyone killed. That's a failure in my book!" Monokuma takes out a giant book and starts writing in it. Who knows where he got it from.

"You say that, and yet I stopped Kaede's ball, made Tsumugi rush, saved Tsumugi, ruined your second motive, stopped the third just in time, and gave everyone the evidence? You can't say I've don't nothing when I purposely bashed my head open for these idiots a few days ago! Nishishi~!" Kokichi laughs at Monokuma, finally standing so his vital organs are slightly further out of reach of Monokuma's claws. "In fact, to me it sounds sorta like… gasp! Is the big bad bear man intimidated by me!?" Kokichi slaps on an excited expression, bouncing in place with giggles occasionally escaping, "Wow! You're so threatened by my efforts that you tried to scare me into either murder or suicide. What a coward!" 

Monokuma tries to start talking, but Kokichi interrupts him again, a finger in the air as he leans down towards Monokuma. "Um, I'm not finished. So- Nishishi! Aaaaanyway~ if you don't believe me then how about a bet? I bet that I can solve all of the secrets of this school despite not having looked at a single motive." Kokichi straightens, only straight thing about him, "Of course, not in a single night. Maybe in a few days, just to catch everyone else up on what I already know. After all, that would be toootally interesting! The stupidly resilient students claim to have all the answers, will they actually succeed and save each other? Find out next time on Dra-"

"Hmmm? You really think you know everything already?  _ Really _ ? Did the ghosts tell you? Phuhuhu…"

"They didn't actually. I said it at the beginning didn't I?" He leans back down again. What? He's finally taller than someone. Himiko and Ryoma don't count, he would just feel sick trying to intimidate them. Too much like the mastermind persona. His smile is sharp, not the wide and childish one he usually dons. "My organization knows everything, can find their way into everything. Even government files, even little bastard bears coming to erase our memories and give us new personalities and pasts. And no, I'm not talking about who you think I am. Nishishi! Don't worry though! I'll prepare everyone for the trial in a few days. After all… starting it before that would be pretty unfair."

Kokichi has a moment to thank how dramatic they made his facial expressions and movements, considering how Monokuma seemed so desperately confused for a second. "Even if you think you have all the answers, have fun finding proof to convince everyone! You're going off of accounts made by people no one else but that detective even knows exists! Even if they did know, how many would believe you, a dirty liar, as easily? He just took your words at face value, how naive! Maybe I'll go up to him and create some elaborate story about actually being the victim in this situation, where you kidnapped me by holding the Monokubs hostage and threatening to kill me if I do anything? Who knows."

Kokichi raises a single eyebrow. "...Huh? Did the dumb discount pedobear forget that he and the Monokubs not only have backups and replacements respectively, but also have giant murder machines that could crush me instantly with little to no effort at all? Nishishi! How amateur! No wonder you keep going on about other people being disappointed in you for how boring the killing game is, you already are a disappointment." 

\----------------------------

"Guys…" "Stop denying it cuckweed!"

Shuichi has been, for the last few minutes, been bombarded with everything his classmates have ever noticed that may suggest a crush in any way shape or form. Apparently Akamastu likes to talk about it with everyone, and they all began noticing small things. Like Shuichi glancing over at him, Kokichi standing behind him in the elevator which Shuichi doesn't understand how that's evidence, and Shuichi being able to tell pretty accurately when he's lying for example. Shuichi hardly doubts the last one, it's just that Kokichi makes most of his lies extremely obvious on purpose and once you become friends, it's even more obvious. Everyone is denying that though, saying that he's extremely hard to read and jokingly accusing him of bragging, which is quickly and desperately denied.

Thankfully, they're interrupted by very fast moving feet and the door being excitedly opened. Or so it seems based on the smaller boy's expression but that is clearly proven wrong when an exisal appears, chasing Kokichi through the halls as he laughs, seemingly carefree. Like his possible demise at the hands of Monokuma is a giant joke to him. A large amount of the ghosts scramble in behind of him, like they can protect him.

"I thought we were the only ones capable of controlling the exisals! Oh no!"

"Save me Shumai! I'm gonna dieeee!" He keeps laughing, jumping over the table to land with everyone between him and the exisal. Monokuma pops the lid off of the cockpit and growls at Kokichi before piloting it away.

"Oh yeah… anyone can get in the cockpit. We just can control them from outside…"

"Ouma!" "Wha-?" " _ Kokichi! _ " Various people start speaking, causing a sudden explosion of noise and voices. He blinks in surprise as people start swarming him with questions, asking if he's ok or asking what happened. 

"...He looks so confused. Does he not have people caring for him often?" Shuichi mutters it to himself, not expecting an answer. Instead he gets a strange pressure on his shoulder, which comes from seemingly nothing when he looks over. He glances at Shinguji, who meets his eyes. The tall boy shifts his gaze and pats a hand on his shoulder, subtly in the way you might think he's just rubbing his neck. So there's a hand on his shoulder, but then it multiplies. Oh yeah. They couldn't touch him before. He can hear laughter as they poke him. He tries to keep his own laughter silent, only letting a small huff escape.

He looks at Kokichi again and they lock eyes. Shuichi let's out a small noise of surprise at Kokichi watching him, the smaller boy raising an eyebrow, smirking, before screaming as loud as he can. Which, unsurprisingly, is extremely loud. Those crowding around him jumps and he overdramatically clears his throat.

"Have fun finding out all of the secrets of this place within the next few days, unless you feel like dying in a trial for our freedom."

And he turns around.

And leaves the room.

Screams erupt behind him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1,403 words  
> there was originally going to be more but then I couldn't figure out how to end this scene and it took a month. Sorry for the long wait?


	22. Trauma is neat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: we are currently morning/midday of day 12, the day that the student council blocked the manhole and said they are no longer using flashback lights, 3 days after Ryoma's murder.

Kokichi laughs as he runs. He knows these people well enough that none of them will chase him, just track him down later. Well… there's a few exceptions, like the ghosts following him and asking how this is, in any way shape or form, a good idea. He laughs harder as they just don't understand, collapsing in on himself when he reaches his room. They don't get it, of course they don't, they weren't there.

"There's no Nanokumas in here again.. how strange."

His laughter cuts off abruptly. "Miu." " _ What _ ?" "No pigshit, if I do this then we don't go to the virtual world. We can completely skip Miu's trial. Based on what I've heard, it's unlikely for her to kill me, but still possible, so I don't know absolutely who she would kill. Then, it's likely she might force me to stay on the other side of the map, so I couldn't protect anyone anyway. It's basically impossible for anyone but me to come up with the "Killing Game Busters" plan, especially since I had to ask Monokuma to put the flashback light there to make things more interesting for him. This is the best way to go forward, highest chance of everyone living."

A few people nod, but Aikido-Ko snorts. " _ And you didn't even try to tell us beforehand? How rude _ ." She's smiling, it's not malicious. Occult-Ko huffs out a laugh. Bug Boy looks concerned before he looks at Ten-chan. Kokichi sighs, sitting against his door and taking deep breaths. Today has been exhausting and it's only been a few hours. 

\---------------------------- 

**I've been avoiding writing about his parents directly, so skip the first paragraph if you don't want to read anything with them. Sorry!**

\----------------------------

_ Kokichi is young. Too young. He doesn't know yet. He sits at the table, tapping his foot on the floor. He can't help, he's always been an energetic child. So much energy that he can't sit still, constantly fidgeting or shifting in place. He jumps when his mom slams her hands on the table and screams at him. He never gets to finish his dinner. Kokichi, after a rather rude awakening courtesy of his father, is shaking as he changes, nearly bursting back into tears as he struggles to tie his shoes. He doesn't tie them in the end, tucking the aglets into his shoes to hide them. _

_ No one asks about the bruise on his cheek, he doesn't get sent to the nurse, his parents don't get called. Considering how much his fidgeting disrupts class, they must assume someone got tired of it. It's not until years later that he learns that some of the kids had asked the teacher what happened and got basically nothing as a response. It only encouraged them later in life. _

_ The dream shifts. He's the usual age again. He's alone. He's always alone, and has been for exactly two weeks. Two weeks since he happily jumped out of the window to be greeted with nothing, nothing at all. Nothing used to be normal, it isn't anymore. He's been spoiled. Spoiled by kindness and protection from a single person. He hasn't heard from Uncle since that day, and hasn't seen Shuichi since that day. He tried to keep hope that Uncle would contact him, but he can't find a moment to sneak off. Shuichi hasn't abandoned him. He repeats that to himself everyday. He repeats that to himself often. He walks to school with his head down, slow. Far slower then the occasional racing he did with Shuichi, see who can get there the fastest. As he walks, a bruise on his leg burns. Every step makes it worse. He can feel one on his arm, right where Shuichi would grab him and tug him along when excited before he started grabbing his hand instead.  _

_ He doesn't hear the car coming up behind him. He doesn't notice it until he's thrown into the backseat. He has a moment of clarity as he tries to fight. Of course. Of course that's what happened. Uncle is a detective, he would be busy if his nephew got kidnapped. Kidnapped. He doesn't have many complaints actually. As long as he gets to see his friend again, alive. Please let him be alive…  _

_ I promise… I promise that… I'll protect you... _

\----------------------------

Kokichi jumps awake, making a noise in the back of his throat that sounds a lot like he's a chipmunk being strangled. This time, he doesn't have Shuichi there to distract him. He curls in on himself, shaking. Tears leak from his eyes on their own violation.

_ I promised him. But… that's not it. That's not it I know that's not it there's more I know there's more what am I missing- _

He doesn't notice as he starts hyperventilating. The ghosts try to help, but he flinches away from their hands. A few seconds pass, when he feels a large hand on his hair, far too large to be anyone he knows. As his hair gets ruffled, he lifts his head and wails. Gonta moves Kokichi, putting him on his bed in the hopes that he calms down. The grape is still so tired, letting out his emotions did not help. Wow, his day really likes doing flips huh. Woke up from a nightmare but his morning was still pretty good. He broke his own good mood with thoughts, then he fucked with Monokuma. That was pretty funny and helped cheer him up a little. Now his brain decides to give him memories that are definitely traumatic? Like he's not going through something traumatic, otherwise known as a fucking killing game? Bullshit, absolute bullshit on all accounts.

Kokichi is going to end this fucking killing game and save everyone. They don't have a choice in the matter, and will be backhanded if they try to resist. No murder. Absolutely none.

_ But still… What am I missing? I need to figure it out. _

\----------------------------

_ As if his brain is trying to apologize, Kokichi falls into a peaceful dream this time. The small boy and Shuichi are sitting on the roof again, probably some kind of exposure therapy then. They watch the sunset, singing together. An English song, Kokichi's pronunciation can still use a little work but he's very close. His voice is quiet, like he's scared of annoying the neighbors. He looks over at his friend. The sun is painting Shuichi's face, eyes closed as he sings peacefully. Kokichi smiles at him.  _

Shuichi looks… really pretty in sunset lighting.

_ As soon as the thought crosses his mind, his face reddens and his eyes widen, but he doesn't falter. He keeps singing, tearing his eyes away from his only friend. Two songs later, he looks back at his friend only to meet golden eyes looking back at him. He blinks in surprise, the taller boy messing up his singing by laughing. Shuichi turns away, looking back towards the sunset. Kokichi smiles at him, small and shy but there, he also turns away. They sing at the sky for hours, happily forgetting about everything except each other, the music, and the sunset. _

\----------------------------

Shuichi wanders on the newest floor with Harukawa, Akamastu, and Shirogane. It's such a dramatic shift from the floor below, going from creepy and bloody to clean and professional. Strangely reminiscent of a church too. He was planning on showing Kokichi, but the smaller boy ran away earlier and Shuichi doesn't want to bother him. A large number of the ghosts chased after Kokichi anyway, so he's probably fine. There's two ghosts currently following, whispering with each other. They walk normally, which is weird as Shuichi knows they can float, but maybe it's the familiarity or habit. ...Wait since when could he see them? Well, seeing them is overexaggerating. It's more of a vague impression of darkness. Oh he's off topic-

The girls would normally walk in a line, Akamastu in the middle, but with him being there too they're more of a bunch. Akamastu and Shirogane keep walking a bit faster to go to the front, then turning around and walking backwards to get their point in the conversation across, meanwhile Harukawa calmly walks next to Shuichi. Honestly, he's not keeping up with the conversation much, and they aren't trying to rope him into it. He does catch a few things, like Akamastu asking how diluted poison has to be for it to be harmless and Shirogane looking at her in extreme confusion and concern. Or Harukawa answering with a straight face and getting another look but with mostly concern. Shuichi laughs a little, somehow these types of conversations seem normal with this group of people. 

About the rest of his classmates, he's not quite sure. He knows Momota accidentally hit Yumeno's hat with the back of his hand, which got him chased by Chabashira and he also accidentally roped poor Amami into it so those four are together. Kiibo was talking with Hoshi last he saw, accompanied by the remaining ghosts, and Yanaga was ranting at Tojo. Something about tropical fruits? He didn't catch a lot before he was dragged out.

They end up exploring Shirogane's lab. Nothing really noteworthy happens in there, other than the ghosts getting surprisingly agitated for no reason. Or so he thought, he finds out the reason the second he separates from the living. Once they all separate, he turns and meets the eyes of the two following him, and they grab his hands to tug him along. He yelps as they stop using unnecessary or non-existent leg muscles and just float in order to save energy.

" _ This would've been useful when Kokichi was panicking in Ryoma's lab… _ " " _ Heh, yeah it would've been easier then reverse pictionary. _ " "Can you please tell me where we're going?" 

_ I thought it was only Kokichi, but they also call everyone else by their first names. Weird... _

He stops nearly tripping over his feet constantly and finally finds a way to keep his legs under him. He's thankful they don't run into anyone, considering how weird he's running to everyone but Shinguji. At one point they do almost run into a wall and spend a few minutes complaining about being the oldest ghosts here and more used to ghost things. That answers another question about them, they died at different times. However apparently these two died within a few hours of each other. Sparks the question of why there's only eleven, and how long ago they died. He'll ask later. 

Eventually, they lead him to a door. Kokichi's door, unsurprisingly. One lets go of him to try and open it, but let's out a huff of frustration as they go through it. They stick their head inside and a few seconds later, it opens. The door moving reveals a line of ghosts coming from the direction of the bed. There's one sitting on the bed, who is not only absolutely massive like Gokuhara but is also gently holding Kokichi, passed out with red, puffy eyes and dry tear tracks still marking lines down his cheeks. He sucks in a surprised breath and looks around for permission before walking over.

He's pretty sure they laughed at him for that, considering they dragged him over for a reason and could've just not opened the door for him. He walks up to the bed, stopping beside it.

"...What…" Shuichi's voice is too quiet so he clears his throat and starts again. "What happened?" 

" _ Well… I would say nightmare but we all know that's not quite right. _ " One of the two that lead him here spoke, looking at them closer he notices that they have long hair but it was mostly hidden by the smokey and fading effect around them. They're also the one that tried to open the door. Shuichi winces and looks down, taking a deep breath before sitting on the bed. The giant ghost smoothly moves the purple haired boy and the others move forward and manipulate Shuichi's arms until his sitting with Kokichi hugged to his chest, face red and definitely not prepared to be put in charge of a person.

A few more minutes finds the two boys asleep on Kokichi's bed, Shuichi's legs dangling off the side at the knees, Kokichi slightly curled up with his head on Shuichi's chest.

\---------------------------- 

_ Shuichi is walking. He doesn't know anything, other then his name and that he's walking through an attic that never seems to end. The shadows crawl and reach towards him, large towers of boxes teetering dangerously over him, threatening to fall and crush him. He doesn't know what he's there for, he'd rather be anywhere else. Why do attics put him on edge? He's breath shudders through his chest, every second he spends in there feels like someone's trying to choke him and it only gets worse. Then Shuichi rounds another corner made of precariously stacked boxes to find two boys in a school outfit. One was holding up the other by the scruff of his uniform. _

_ He runs, pushing the bigger one to knock him off balance and hopefully loosen his grip, then pulling the victim away and behind him. He glares at the other, who he doesn't recognize. In fact, neither of the boys have recognizable features. He can see their hair, but he forgets the second he looks away. Maybe he can see their faces too, but even looking right at him there's nothing. Maybe he forgets when he blinks, but is Shuichi even blinking?  _

_ The bigger boy makes a move like he's going to retaliate, by another comes over and tugs him away. The boy behind him startles Shuichi by hugging him, arms hesitantly reaching between his torso and arms in order to not trap his arms in the hug. _

_ Shuichi wraps his arms around the arms around him, attempting to comfort the boy before the set off to try and escape the attic together.  _

_ It's much better then being alone. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2,325 words  
> School… is the actual worst. I wanna write mah story! I don't care about making words out of the symbols of elements of the periodic table, or puns out of the elements!


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